Team Reports |
Gratitude & JubilationSue Small — Oakville, ON
In October I received a phone call from the Sleeping Children office wanting to know if I would be a member of an emergency distribution to the Philippines. I could think of many reasons not to go but relied on my intuition and agreed to be part of the team. I am so pleased with this decision. The travelling team worked extremely well together. Upon arrival in Manila, we were met by members of the SCAW Core Committee led by Dr. Ito. During the entire distribution, they were excellent partners and provided invaluable assistance throughout the distribution. They became wonderful friends and we enjoyed their companionship, sensitivity and knowledge immensely.
As a team, we viewed many of the worst-hit areas in Manila. We saw homes that had been flooded and visited a church where waterlogged prayer books, bibles, and hymn books were being aired out to dry in the church's courtyard. We listened to stories of heroism and how ordinary citizens helped others, only to be overcome with the water themselves. Stories were recounted to us of families being trapped on rooftops after climbing out of windows. We heard of children and adults rowing in boats where sidewalks and streets had been only twelve hours before the flooding. We saw families living on the streets and debris from the floods still hanging from trees and vegetation in the river areas. In all their stories there was no sense of bitterness, just a peaceful energy and a commitment to move on with their lives. The smell of new paint was replacing the pungent smell of standing water and rotting debris. People were sweeping the streets with home-made brooms and trucks were picking up the endless garbage and debris left by the floods. Rivers were slowly returning to their pre-typhoon levels.
Most of the children who received a SCAW bedkit were victims of the flooding. Many of their families had lost everything including mandatory school uniforms. Each bedkit included two white t-shirts which the schools had agreed the children could wear in place of the lost uniforms. When meeting the children you could feel and see in their eyes that they were still in shock and dealing with their loss and fear. Each SCAW bedkit was received with gratitude and jubilation by each child and his or her family. The magic of the SCAW bedkit helped to fill the void left by this recent disaster and gave each child and family hope for a new tomorrow. A big "Thank you" goes out to all our donors! Once again I saw first hand the power of your donations and the beautiful message it gave to our SCAW children: someone they had never met cared about them. |
