For the ChildrenGreg O’Neill — Ajax, ON “While we try to teach our children all about life, – Angela Schwindt
Imagine the joy and exhilaration of being enthusiastically greeted by a sea of five hundred smiling children dressed in brightly colored t-shirts of red, green, yellow, and orange all cheering, chanting, and clapping as the SCAW team approached them twelve times over ten consecutive days. Each day we had a distribution was a true adrenalin rush for each of the Canadian travelling volunteers for Sleeping Children. On one of the early distribution days I approached an open truck loaded with children, parents, and bedkits as they were preparing to return to their villages. One boy wanted to share his feelings with me while at the same time representing all the other children on the truck when he said with a broad smile, “We are very happy.” He then went on to ask me if it were possible for him to go to Canada. I told him that he certainly could, provided he stayed in school and worked very hard. Then has asked me, “Are there any dark people in Canada?” He seemed quite satisfied when I told him that there were many Ugandans in Canada as well as people from almost all African countries.
His next question was, “What kind of food do you have in Canada?” When I answered that we had beef, chicken, goat, rice, potatoes, and cassava as well as pineapple, watermelon, and bananas, he seemed quite overjoyed. As the truck pulled away amid cheery good-byes and high fives, I couldn’t help but believe that in addition to providing a good night’s sleep to the 6,000 children who received bedkits, we may also have provided those same children with a beacon of hope for a bright future. Another highlight of the trip for all of us was spending two weeks with members of The Inner Wheel Club of Kampala. They are clearly an amazing collection of “angels” who work tirelessly and seamlessly, not only on behalf of the children, but also making sure that the experience of the SCAW team is as enjoyable as much as it is comfortable. Our deep thanks and gratitude to them for their warm, gracious, and generous hospitality and especially for their friendship.
Last but not least, I would like to express my thanks to each and every donor who contributed bedkits for this distribution. It was a joy and a privilege to represent you while presenting your gifts to these very appreciative children and their families. Endless expressions of their gratitude were conveyed to us each and every day through their smiles, their gestures and their thank yous. As we left Uganda having completed our task, the faces of the children and the gestures of gratitude from the children, their families and members of the communities at large were indelibly etched in my mind and my heart. I returned to Canada with humility, a profound respect for the people whose lives have touched ours, and a deep appreciation for all that we have waiting for us back home. |
