SCAW Blog: Pune, 2025: November 28

Cooperative Spirit in Action

Today’s distribution was held at a school in the village of Malthan. In addition to our usual Rotarian partners, we had many volunteers from the local community, known for its cooperative spirit. The teachers who assisted were dressed in their special occasion uniform of a beautiful sari with a navy blazer.

Many of the volunteers were young people. We were greeted by a line of girls dancing, their saris of the most vibrant colours. Female students helped the children change into the bedkit clothing and some male students and young men from the community assisted with carrying items in the bedkit.

Lots of “selfies” were taken with the SCAW team. And a son of one Rotarian assisted in organizing the children for the photos. These younger volunteers showed us that the spirit of giving back has passed on to the next generation.

Team Pune, 2025

Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment 🇮🇳 + SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Pune, 2025: November 27

The Smiles of Excited Children

Today we returned to the hospital in Indapur. Having the same setup as yesterday made the bedkit distribution go smoothly.

I think this group of children were the most excited about the bedkits so far. Some of them ran to have their pictures taken and pointed to their favourite bedkit items. The stainless steel water bottle received the biggest cheers, followed by the always popular school supplies.

One of the volunteers today was a pharmacy student from the hospital that hosted us. He was great with the children, lining them up and coaxing them to smile for the camera. Reviewing the photos later made me smile. I know they will make the SCAW donors smile as well. 

Team Pune, 2025

Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment 🇮🇳 + SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Pune, 2025: November 26

Warm Sleeping Kits Distributed in Indapur. This blog post was written by Sakina Pittalwala, one of our Rotarian partners.

Today was a special day. We were in Indapur, a town about 125 kilometers (or 78 miles) away from Pune city. This was our first day of giving out sleeping kits in Indapur, and it was Day 4 of our whole project.

We were happy to give warm sleeping kits to about 670 young children. These children were chosen from 49 different schools in Indapur and the nearby villages. We held the distribution at a very kind place: an Ayurvedic hospice. Ayurveda is India’s traditional, ancient medicine system, using natural ingredients.

About Indapur:

Indapur is a very old, historical town. It has links to the great Maratha King, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The town is also known for its ancient temples, especially the Indreshwar Temple, which is the town's main place of worship. It also sits near the Ujani Dam and the Bhima River, which makes the area important for farming.

Our Partners and Plans:

Today’s great effort was helped by our main partner, the Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment, and by the Rotary Club of Indapur. Thank you for making this possible.

We are staying the night in Indapur and hope to distribute 700 more kits tomorrow!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this day a success!

Team Pune, 2025

Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment 🇮🇳 + SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Pune, 2025: November 25

The Pune bedkit included a mattress for the first time. The Rotary Club of Pune Cantonement, our Overseas Volunteer Partner, solicited samples and bids from several local companies and selected the New Poona Cotton Factory, started in 1937. We visited this company which has 73 employees. The owner is the fourth generation to run the business. His wife works here and his daughter will be joining when she finishes school.

Careful thought went  in to the mattress design. It is made of foam and is 66 inches long which should fit the oldest children for around four years. The dark fabric cover is 80 percent cotton for breathability in summer and 20 percent polyester for strength and durability. The mattress is washable and can be dried in the sun. Both the foam and fabric are made in India. To reduce the cost of each mattress, these smaller mattresses were cut from pieces of foam left over during the manufacturing of commercial mattresses.

Like Sleeping Children, this company appreciates the importance of a good night of sleep. They have a program that involves cleaning and re-covering returned cotton mattresses and donating them to students at a local high school.

The supplier that made the t-shirts and shorts was also new this year so we visited their sewing facility. The company has been in business for 25 years and has 53 employees. The owner showed us how they cut, sew and press the t-shirts and shorts. One of his employees attends the distribution to help with sizing of the children.

We enjoyed touring the facilities of these two new partners and seeing the care they put in to providing for the children of Pune.

Team Pune, 2025

Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment 🇮🇳 + SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Pune, 2025: November 24

Monday in Madh!

Our distribution today took us over a scenic mountain pass to the village of Madh. A crowd of excited children and parents greeted us this morning, many who had travelled from over 30 communities for the distribution. 

Our enthusiastic Rotary partners hosted the opening ceremonies and we enjoyed watching two groups of children perform traditional Indian dances in their colourful costumes.

It was delightful to see bedkits and mattresses being loaded onto vehicles and two-wheelers to be taken home although it was a challenging task to get all the bedkits and people loaded for the long trips.

After our work was completed, we shared a meal with our Rotary friends at the nearby school. The school principal shared that the Indian government provides funding so that all school children receive a mid-day meal. At this school, an NGO ChildFund, provides resources and training in computer and life skills. We also stopped briefly at the Rural Health Centre. The proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child," rings true in this village.

Team Pune, 2025

Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment 🇮🇳 + SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Pune, 2025: November 23

We drove north of Pune to visit the homes of children who had received bedkits in February 2025. The first two homes were in a rural area producing vegetables, corn, and sugar cane. Walking through the settlement we recognized clothing from the bedkits drying on clotheslines and rooftops. The hoodie was spotted several places and one child was wearing the pajamas. 

We visited a boy whose parents were at work in the fields so his grandmother was minding her four grandchildren. They showed us the bedkit items and said the hoodie, pajamas, shorts and shirts were well used. They had recently built a two room house which had no furniture but had space for everyone to sleep on the floor. Their old house is now a kitchen and houses the cattle at night to protect them from leopards. Leopards have moved into this area as their habitat is destroyed. There have been several attacks on livestock and humans and no one goes outside after dark.

The second site was in an area of subsistence farmers growing bananas, sugar cane, grapes, chrysanthemums, pomegranates and papayas.

We visited a young girl and her mother and brother. She showed us the bedkit items and especially loved the shorts and shirts as she enjoys sports but never had the proper clothes to wear. The warm bedding and blanket have not been used yet because of the heat wave since February, but she is looking forward to using them as winter sets in.

The final visit was with a boy, his widowed mother, and his grandparents. The boy appreciated the clothing most, however he has had a growth spurt so has outgrown some of the items. His grandmother talked to us about the importance of him getting a good education, an opportunity she never had.

These families were so grateful to SCAW donors for the gift of a bedkit. Despite their hardships, the families were generous to us with their time and insisted on giving us gifts in return - papayas, dill and coriander fresh from the garden and delicious cookies baked with flour grown and prepared from their fields.

We drove off towards a beautiful sunset, feeling that the spirit of giving can be found in everyone.

Team Pune, 2025

Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment 🇮🇳 + SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Pune, 2025: November 22

We were greeted today by over 700 children and their parents in Khandala, near Satara. Our hosts received us with a warm welcome and we were adorned with traditional headwear for the opening ceremonies.

Hall filled with eager children

Julie with headwear and flowers

Although a bit chaotic to start, the SCAW team and Rotary partners pulled together quickly to run a smooth distribution. 

The Rotary Team Captain for today was Sakina and after making sure all was well, she settled in to do our tracking for the day. 

Helen, Julie (taking photos) and Sakina (tracking)

The chldren must be accompanied by a parent or guardian as the collective bedkit items could not be carried by a chlld alone.

Helping a child put on his new backpack

Mother and child getting black bag with bedkit items

Mother and child picking up the mattress

Today I had the special privilege to deliver some of the bedkits that my friends in Canada have donated. It is very rewarding to see the smiles on the children's faces and know that 100% of our money is put into the bedkit items for each child.

Helen with bedkit recipient

Team Pune, 2025

Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment 🇮🇳 + SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Pune, 2025: November 21

A Successful First Distribution

We left the chaos of Pune city traffic and drove three hours on curving mountain roads lined with wildflowers  and the lush Satara forest.  This area was chosen for a distribution because the region had experienced devastating floods during historic monsoon rains in June and there was a great need for the items in the bedkits.

We travelled through an agricultural area where the sugar cane harvest was in progress before arriving at the community centre for our first distribution at Koregaon in the district of Satara. 

We were greeted by a band of drummers and horns and members of the local Rotarian club. It was an emotional experience as 700 children, their parents, grandparents and teachers welcomed us with cheers and clapping. Following a brief cultural ceremony the SCAW team presented the items in the bedkit. 

The children cheered loudest for the warm hoodie, the fleece blanket and the raincoat. That told us that our Overseas Volunteer Partner, the Rotary Club of Pune Cantonement, truly identified and met the specific needs of their community.

Our first distribution day went smoothly, and our SCAW team of two were so appreciative of the experience and hard work of all the Rotarian volunteers. Afterwards the local Rotarians graciously hosted us for a traditional lunch, so delicious!

We hope that all 709 children will sleep better tonight and be prepared for the cold winter nights and next year’s monsoon season.

Team Pune, 2025

Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment 🇮🇳 + SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Pune, 2025: November 20

Team Pune has arrived!  Unfortunately, we are a team of two due to issues getting visas for our travelling volunteers. But fortunately, we are working with a very organized and supportive group of Rotary Clubs to accomplish our mission.

We had our pre-distribution meeting with the core planning team from the Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment.

Photo from left to right: Helen, Julie, Sameer, Hema, Tawhid, Rajeshree, Nitin and Pankaj.

We discussed the details of our distribution and were shown the bedkit items. New this year is a 2” foam mattress covered in durable fabric.  Later in the evening we met and shared a meal with the 10 Rotary partner clubs that work together to make this project a success.

Team Pune, 2025

Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment 🇮🇳 + SCAW 🇨🇦