Team Reports
• Linda Webb
• Sally Sandiford
• Laura Harper
• Nancy Loveless
• Katie Sandiford
• Maureen Maus

You can also download a PDF version of this report from our Distributions page.

Poverty in Paradise

Linda Webb -- Etobicoke, ON

Everyone one who has been to Africa, every book that I have read, warned that Africa would take my breath away and steal my heart. They were right.

Tanzania is a country of incredible natural beauty: the acacia-dotted veldt teeming with wildlife, the majestic, snow-capped Kilimanjaro, the dense tropical vegetation, the white sandy beaches of the Indian Ocean, the exotic aura of the fabled Zanzibar. The hospitality and gentleness of Tanzanians bear witness to the peace that has pervaded this country in recent history.

But the dark side of this beautiful country is that its people are ravaged by AIDS, malaria, and poverty. There have been so many mind-boggling breakthroughs in science and technology in our lifetimes. It begs the question: Why are there still children without beds and the protection of an LLIN net (long lasting insecticide net)? [See note below]

Each morning the children arrive tattered and wide-eyed, some in obvious need of proper nutrition and medical attention. Each leaves with a bedkit including an LLIN net and the hope that comes from knowing that someone cared deeply enough to give them a bedkit. During one poignant morning assembly, a group of orphans sang their gratitude, but the children were still unbelieving of their gift until they actually had it in their hands.

Sleeping Children Around the World [SCAW] gives bedkits to school-age children between six and twelve years old. It is more urgent than ever that children attend school. They need the stability that school affords, they need a reliable source of information on diseases, and last but certainly not least, they thirst for education. Included in the bedkit were a white shirt (school uniform), four exercise books, and a pen -- five basic items that we take for granted, but which are a treasure to a child who may be barred from school for not having a uniform and supplies. It truly is a blessing and an honour to watch the contributions of so many donors and volunteers being put into action.

Stephen Lewis, in his book Race Against Time, writes, "One day the world will come to its senses." In the meantime, we are grateful for the generosity of our donors and volunteers, and we cherish in our hearts the memory of five thousand gentle smiles of gratitude.

Asante sana. (Thank you very much.)

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LLIN:
Long Lasting Insecticide Net

In Africa, one child dies from malaria every thirty seconds. Malaria is the biggest killer disease of children under five years of age in this challenging part of the world. SCAW has been researching the inclusion of a new type of mosquito netting in our bedkits. This new type of netting, called a Long Lasting Insecticide Net (LLIN), was in the Tanzania bedkit this year.

This netting is much more effective than untreated nets due to the binding of the insecticide to the netting. The World Health Organization has vigorously tested the insecticide and found it has no ill effects on humans. The only negative to the LLIN nets is the cost: about four times the cost of an untreated net. In order to include an LLIN net in this year's Tanzania bedkit, we had to cut back on some other items; however, if we can save children's lives, it's well worth it.