Team Reports |
Learning About India & SCAWJeff Dryden — Murray & Margaret's great grandson, age 11 Over the years I have heard wonderful things about Sleeping Children, so I was so excited when I was asked to go and help on this distribution of 3,000 bedkits. It sure gave me great insight into the charity that my great grandfather started. India is just like what it says in books with overcrowded streets, poverty, cows in the street, and villages located in very remote areas. However, the experiences that you encounter are something that you must see to believe. I found the daily journeys to the remote villages very long and tiresome. Although they were long, the best part of these long drives was that we got to see some remote areas of India and some unique villages. We were amazed that they would build a huge temple in the middle of nowhere. My role in the distribution was giving out the backpacks to each kid and counting the photos taken. This was important because we had to make sure that all the photos were accounted for. This might seem easy, but multiply each of those by 3,000 and add 35°C and dry weather and it makes it much more challenging.
One child stood out in my mind in particular. He was giving a rose to one of the distribution team members and before he did he made a little speech in English that I found very amazing. He thanked us for coming and wished us a very safe return trip. It was an amazing feat for him to memorize this entire speech in English, when he did not speak English himself. Another funny memory of this trip was on the first day that we arrived in Pune. My grandpa, who is always so well organized, locked himself and myself out of our hotel room at the YMCA. The girl at the desk was able to help him out and we finally got into the room after an exhausting day. In all, I found the trip very rewarding and fascinating. Not only did I learn all about the country of India, I learned more about Sleeping Children and the efforts of so many people to make all this possible. It is a great charity and one that I look forward to helping again in the near future. |
