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Providing ComfortGary Jewitt — Clinton, ON In 1994, while I was principal of Huron Centennial School in Huron County, our student council decided to do a project to assist “children who were less fortunate.” They chose an organization I had not heard of and Richard Hryniw, a SCAW volunteer, made a presentation to our students. As a result, a very successful project, was completed and fifty bedkits were donated. The Sleeping Children project proved an excellent way to help our children understand the plight of millions of children in our world. After retiring, I assisted with distributions in Thailand and India. Soon after my return from India in 2000, my wife, Chrystal, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Until her death this January, she was an avid supporter of SCAW. She used donations and the pictures to remember birthdays, Christmas, anniversary celebrations, as well as In Memoriams. At her funeral, over one hundred of her friends gave SCAW bedkits in her memory. Your donation not only made a difference in the life of a child but also celebrated a life well lived. I was pleased to be chosen as a travelling volunteer to Tanzania. During the distribution, I saw bedkit recipients suffering from extreme poverty and handicaps and children being looked after by grandparents because both parents had died of HIV/AIDS.
I also observed donor labels from individuals celebrating special family occasions and legacies. I noted service clubs, schools and companies who contribute to SCAW as part of their social responsibility work. It was especially heart-warming to see the hundreds of bedkits given as memorial gifts, including those given in Chrystal’s memory. It is rewarding to see how the generosity of so many people has a positive effect on the lives of the needy children in Tanzania. Sleeping Children Around the World continues to live up to its dream of providing the comfort of a good night’s sleep to children in the developing world. |
