Team Reports |
Making a DifferenceTheo Will-Dryden — Murray & Margaret's great grandson, age 12 The distribution in Pune gave me an understanding of extreme poverty. I learned that poor people in India barely have anything: no plumbing, insufficient electricity, unsanitary living conditions, lack of food and fresh water, barely anything at all. One thing I can’t believe about these people is that, though they are in these horrible situations, they always seem to be happy. They don’t focus on what they don’t have, they focus on what they do have and they are very grateful for that. When they are given the bedkit, you see the kids excited and energetic and you feel fuzzy inside because you made a difference in this child’s life. I heard the story of a child in grade six who had received a bedkit the previous year and had not been absent for the next full school year. That’s amazing. His dad explained that because of the items in the bedkit, his son was better prepared for school. He got a good night’s sleep, had shoes to walk over the stony roads, and a raincoat to keep him dry during the monsoon season. Kids sometimes didn’t go to school in the monsoon season because if they got wet while walking to school they wouldn’t want to sit in their classroom all day in wet clothes.
The villages where we delivered bedkits had grand festivities because this was the first time their kids had ever received a gift from anyone, especially from someone half way around the world. They would play instruments and dance and sing. They also put bindis on our foreheads. One of my favourite jobs was handing out bedkits. They were a bit shy at first but when you gave them the bedkit they would give you a brilliant smile and a “Namaste” as they went out to their parents. It was very touching to see this close up. I’ve heard the stories about SCAW from my parents and grandparents so it was awesome to experience this myself. The trip made me feel great inside and I can’t wait to go back again. |
