SCAW Blog: Philippines, 2025: April 6

It feels like we just arrived and now it is time to go!

Today we had our two final distributions.  At both we arrived at a school full of children already dressed in their new pjs and a multitude of volunteers to help with the distribution.  A lovely young girl said the opening prayer and we sang both national anthems. 

The distributions went extremely fast due to the help of volunteers including the Coast Guard, the Fire Brigade and several Kiwanis clubs.  After all was said and done, there was the requisite paparazzi.  

During our short time here, we have learned that Filipinos love to eat.  Today alone we had chicken, pasta (2 types),  pizza (2 types), garlic bread, and more types of noodles than we can count. And that was just lunch! 

We are so touched by the hospitality, generosity, and enthusiasm of our OVPs, and by the excitement of everyone involved in making this such a success.

Team Philippines, 2025

World of Sweet Dreams 🇵🇭 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Philippines, 2025: April 5

SCAW donations deliver immediately at the household-level.

To me, one of the most fascinating parts of the always fascinating SCAW distributions is having the chance to talk with parents who usually wait by the dozens at our distribution sites. These conversations can give us a real understanding of the immediate impact that the arrival of donated bedkits can have in the homes of the recipients.

This conversation starts initially with unpacking a bedkit in front of groups of parents so they can see what’s inside - item by item. The level of cheering after seeing each item shows how useful each will be in their family settings. This is then followed up by one-on-one interviews with parents with the support of our overseas volunteer partners who help encourage parents to participate and who can also serve as translators.

Today, in the course of our second day of distributions in the Philippines, I interviewed 4 parents. We started with developing an understanding of their household situations - number of adults and children in the home and current sleeping arrangements. This was followed by their assessments of which items in the bedkit would be the most useful (today blankets topped the list) and which would be less so - a difficult question to answer because they were all so grateful for everything that has been included. But the most interesting questions to me are those that uncover just how much the household will change for the better, immediately upon the arrival of the bedkit. A young girl who has spent her life sleeping on a broken couch now has her own bed. A young boy who has always shared his mattress with two growing siblings will sleep alone tonight on his new mattress while his siblings find their own shared bed less crowded by one.

Eventually, over the course of a 10 minute interview more comfort builds in the dialogue. Soon you don’t need any more interview questions to feel the smiles of gratitude and see the tears in the eyes that let you know that we are making real, immediate impacts not just with the individual child to whom we present the bedkit but more broadly across their entire home and family.

Team Philippines, 2025

World of Sweet Dreams 🇵🇭 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Philippines, 2025; April 4 - Photos

These photos should have accompanied the blog that was posted yesterday.

Team Philippines, 2025

World of Sweet Dreams 🇵🇭 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Philippines, 2025: April, 4

Our day began by meeting some friendly faces, and some familiar ones too. These were Kiwanis Club representatives - some having spent decades supporting SCAW's work - who kicked the day off with a brand of joyfulness that so perfectly reflected the warmth of the Filipino spirit that we had only started to uncover.

Then came the factory tour where we met cousins Marvin and Fred, stewards of a 40-year-old family business that has evolved from producing rice sacks to manufacturing apparel for some of the Philippines' largest distributors. While impressive in itself, it was their business plan that left me feeling like our overseas partners had secured a terrific supplier. The cousins explained how they were growing a collaborative network of cottage industries across Luzon - already employing over 100 people - outlining their business model that provisioned equipment and training to rural Filipinos with an aim of stemming the tide of labour migrants forced to leave their families and their villages for the grinding metropolis of Manila.

The afternoon brought our first distribution. We delivered 300 bedkits to 300 smiling faces whose patience seemed improbable in the 33 degree heat. We talked to many of these children and their curiosity was truly contagious and their ability to play rock paper scissors impressive.

It's been one day since we landed, and we're one distribution in. I've been struck by the kindness of the Filipino people, but I'm truly in awe of their resiliency. It's going to be a great distribution, and we're in the right place.

Team Philippines, 2025

World of Sweet Dreams 🇵🇭 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Philippines, 2025: April 3

After a very long travel day, the team arrived in Manila extremely tired and excited to begin.  We were graciously met and warmly welcomed by our OVP.  It was far too early in the morning for our hotel rooms to be ready so we spent time visiting the warehouse where the bedkits are put together.  The kits look amazing so the children will be very excited! The warehouse was buzzing with activity, there being only one day until the distributions begin.

From left to right: Cindy H., Ian C., Stuart C., Diane B.

Team  Philippines, 2025

World of Sweet Dreams 🇵🇭 and SCAW 🇨🇦

Distribution 8 - Philippines - March 2023: Blog #9

It is with mixed emotions that today we conclude our SCAW bedkit distribution of 1000 kits. In total 6000 children will be sleeping much better thanks to SCAWs’ most generous donors. As Sue said “it is surreal”.

Some children were very excited while others were apprehensive and shy but overall all were overjoyed as were their families.

Our first site was in a community centre while the second one was at a secondary school.

At the first site we had a significant number of mountain kids , Aeta, who are significantly smaller in stature.

At the second site many of the children were engaged in a special reading program.

As always our local partners , the Kiwanis members plus others readily and happily stepped up to get the job done and resolve any and all challenges we faced; such as when the truck carrying 500 bedkits was too high and would hit the electrical lines necessitating unloading and the relocation of the 500 kits, as anxious children and families waited.

All stepped up to help: some on foot, others by a small vehicles and to our amazement even the local ambulance and its people helped out.

These pictures say what words can not.

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Distribution 7 - Philippines - March 2023: Blog #8

We had a lovely distribution near our hotel with a successful count of 500 children.

There was  extra security provided as we gave the kits straight out the truck. You can

always feel the excitement in the air … followed by some desperation by those who did not

receive a kit.  The need for bedkits is great here.

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The children were chosen thru Kiwanis and a church organization but

some were brought in on school buses. The temperature is 33 degrees and

the sun can be overwhelming at times.

Distribution 6 - Philippines - March 2023 - Blog #7

As we headed out of town to the rural areas we were greeted by the views of crops in the fields and the smells of chicken and pork farms at the distribution site.

The children were over-joyed when we arrived and we all sung both our national anthems with pride.

After 2 distributions of 500 children each we took a quick moment to view the caretaker’s home. It was a room  that was smaller than a regular bedroom. The family with 5 kids lives there with 2 parents and a grandmother. No stove or kitchen. They are allowed to stay on the gym site as long as they take care of the gym.

Many parents on the outside were begging for their children. I had the privilege of giving out bedkits. It can sometimes feel chaotic with the noise and bustle all around.   We hope these children sleep with a little more joy tonight.

Sue Orr

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Masking - Philippines, March 2023

This being the first in person SCAW distribution since the start of the pandemic, there were many issues and concerns, one of which was the determination of the need for masking.

It was decided that the travelling team would take its lead from the country of distribution and the local distribution centres.

Prior to boarding the aircraft we were advised to wear a mask at all times except when eating.

Arriving in the Philippines at the Manila airport we were required to register on line all our vaccine history, including dates and which vaccine we received.

Within the airport masks were prevalent on most, if not all, of the people. This was also the case with ground transportation and at the hotel and adjacent mall.

We were advised that daily reporting of active cases was occurring and that the numbers in Manila were much higher than the outlying provinces which explained the stricter adherence to masking in the densely populated areas.

We, especially the photographers, think that the smile, always sought for in picture taking, would be missed since many of us consider the mouth turned up to illicit a smile which we believe signals joy, happiness, appreciation etc . A mask covering the mouth reminds us that these emotions are also expressed in other ways such as twinkling eyes, touch, laughing, giggles, body movements and, with these children, remarkable hand gestures indicating love, appreciation and joy. 

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Joy is clearly evident in these photos!

We anticipate that those receiving pictures of children who have chosen to keep their masks on will be understanding and supportive of their choices for safety of self and others.

Distribution 5 - Philippines, March 2023

Today's distribution was in the home city of our host Dr. Ito Torres.

The morning distribution we gave out 350 bedkits and again after lunch we gave out another 350.

Beside the Kiwanis group we also had the Boy and Girl Scouts as our volunteers to help with unloading the bedkits and assisting the children when needed.

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After the distribution we were shown the Kiwanis building and the library which they have set up on the main floor.

Tomorrow is a day of rest.

Fran

Distribution 4 - Philippines, March 2023

Today the distribution occurred at two quite different sites within the Manila area. 

The first location was a church and 350 bedkits were distributed with the assistance, as always, of a fantastic team of over 40 Kiwanis  members. The second site was an athletic facility and again 350 children were present, showing obvious gratification when they received their bedkits that included a mattress, sheet, pillow and pillow case, mosquito net, 2 pairs of shorts, 4 tee shirts, a raincoat, 3 notebooks, pencils and pens along with a back pack.

At each location we start the distribution with the two countries’ anthems and a prayer. Both of these sites surprised us with a performance. There was a cultural dance at the church and an amazing song in English plus a different cultural dance at the second location.

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There was no doubt about the joy the children and their families felt in receiving the bedkits from the generous donors to SCAW, often adding hand gestures of appreciation which seems to be a common additional way of expressing oneself here in the Philippines.

Distribution 3 - Philippines, March 2023

Today was a mixed day of distributing 350 bedkits combined with travelling back to Manila from a few hours south of Manila. We had stayed overnight in a town close to the volcano that had a high risk of a massive eruption in 2020. The volcano risk and emergence of COVID in 2020 cancelled our 2020 distribution. Everybody including us and especially the kids welcomed our return.

The trip back to Manila had a bit of fun when we visited the oldest church in Asia, period costume dress up and a treat of Halo Halo.

 There were  some very happy kids.

Rest Day - Phillippines, March 2023, Blog #2

Today was scheduled as a day of rest with tomorrow being the first day of the distribution.

Despite the long journey to arrive here we all agreed we were somewhat disappointed that we were not starting the distribution today and meeting the wonderful Philippine children and our host Kiwanis Club partners.

Our car was not available to us as the vehicle designated to us was not permitted on the road. This is a measure government is using to assist in controlling traffic in this densely populated city.

Kindness was offered to us by coordinator Millette whose vehicle was allowed on the road after 10 am.

She chauffeured us to the Greenhills Market Place where we enjoyed a delightful morning of browsing, and for some of us shopping, followed by a delicious lunch and time to socialize and learn more about the Philippine culture and the products the Philippines are known for. The market had many many kiosks selling their renowned pearls.

Our afternoon was spent organizing for our first distribution tomorrow. As you can appreciate, review was essential  in light of the Covid hiatus. We are fortunate to have Sue and Jim’s past experience here as well as their expertise in leadership.

We anticipate a day tomorrow of many smiles on faces as the children receive their bedkits which we will see despite the precaution of masking.

Arrival - Phillippines, March 2023, Blog #1

After arriving midday yesterday,  today was our first full day to settle in. It was a “free day” but totally filled in quickly. It started out with our driver taking us to a US War Memorial for the Pacific Second World War relative to the Philippines. There were a few miscues before finding the right one but it was worth the effort and almost overwhelming - the size with the number of crosses of fallen soldiers. It is a touching circular structure with all the names included, rooms with geographic illustrations  highlighting the activity around the Philippines.

Dr. Ito then took us, his personal attendant and driver out to lunch. As expected, he nailed it with a great place just next door to the hotel. After that, he kindly took us on a great tour of the highlights of the city. I think we all really appreciated his kindness and giving us so much of his time.

  One more day to settle in and then I sense all of us are excited to start the bedkit distribution process again after a three year hiatus. A few pictures of lunch and the Memorial.

Cheers,

Jim