SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 20
Today the team was able to enjoy a day off. We took in a little Tanzanian culture and history with a quick plane ride to Zanzibar. How lucky were we to enjoy this incredible sunrise as we stepped off the plane.
We were met at the airport by our guide for the day - Mady. He took us to our first stop which was the Jambo Spice Farm where we were greeted by Doula. Doula informed us that there are over 30 spice farms in Zanzibar.
He then took us through the farm when we encountered over 20 different spices including lemongrass, vanilla, coffee, cacao and of course cinnamon - known as the Queen of Spices and cloves known as the King of Spices! Doula even made us some new jewelry.
And who knew that empty coconuts are used to fertilize new growth?!
We then had an amazing lunch of the local fare before we departed to ”Stonetown” where the slaves were encased. It is a town built all of stone with no cars and of course it is the birthplace of Freddy Mercury!
We are back at it tomorrow with another 700 bedkits to distribute as we complete the last half of the total of 7000 bedkits in Tanzania!
Lala Salama!! 🛌
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Sri Lanka, 2025: July 18
Pre-Arrival
Team Sri Lanka is ready for take-off and eager for the busy distribution ahead. We are looking forward to working with our partners, the Rotary Club of Kelaniya. Stay tuned.
Team Sri Lanka, 2025
Rotary Club of Kelaniya 🇱🇰 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 18
We had a wonderful day at Vikindu Technical College. It was a lovely site with plenty of shady tress and very pleasant weather.
It was a busy site with lots of activity and even a few monkeys. We used the mattresses today to build a backdrop for our 132 pictures.
Unfortunately, we ran into some terrible weekend traffic so it took 4 hours to get back to the hotel, a trip that would normally take 1.5 hours. Just another day in Tanzania . . . .
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 17
Today we travelled to Mgagala Annex school to begin Day Four of our distributions. As we arrived we saw all the volunteers from Upendo working hard to unload the 700 backpacks and mattresses from trucks and vehicles.
In the middle of the unloading was Mama Wandoa carefully watching every detail and counting. She started counting at around 5 a.m. at her home making sure every backpack was accounted for and placed in the right vehicle. She has a system. It is marking everything in groups of fives. Every time a helper walks by her and has five articles they say tano (5) and she tracks it on her clipboard. Her careful attention to detail makes for a very successful distribution.
During our day SCAW and all the volunteers count children, pictures, labels, mattresses, backpacks and at the end of the day we celebrate that 700 children are going home to have a better sleep.
It all begins with tano, a small number that grows to amazing joy for the children.
Tonight we count our blessings. What a wonderful day.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 16
Today we visited the school Chanzige and we were greeted by signs all along the school road that were all positive affirmations like “never stop learning as life never stops teaching” and “you are the hero of your own story.” Someone has put a lot of love into this school and it shows. The children were so friendly and loved practicing their English with us.
While handing out the 700 bedkits we noticed that the children were kicking around plastic bottles to play football with. Our generous partners from Super Banco gifted some “footballs” to us so we were happy to gift two of them to this school. After the headmaster showed us his football skills the kids were happily playing with them before we left for the day.
This is my first distribution with SCAW and it has been such a rewarding, enlightening and heartfelt experience, especially because I am able to share it with my mother.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 15
Day 2 of distributions was busy with lots of smiling faces eagerly awaiting us. We were set up under a beautiful ancient mango tree. The children waited patiently and sang some songs while we set up.
We began with tying a kanga around each child, took their photos and ushered them to collect their backpacks stuffed with goodies and their mattresses.
There were a lot of high fives and thank yous. Not even some brief rain dampened their smiles.
The volunteers were amazing. It was a busy and gratifying day.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 14
Team Tanzania has arrived and are ready to work!
After a gruelling two days of travel, the team of 8 has arrived in Dar es Salaam to begin the journey of enriching the lives of 7000 children in Tanzania with a bedkit from our generous donors.
We’ve had a lot of time to bond and get to know each other as team members travelled from British Columbia to Toronto to Addis Ababa to Dar.
We hit the ground running after a good night’s sleep with a pre-distribution meeting Monday morning at Mama Wandoa’s house. Here we were able to see where all of the bedkit items are made and stored. The mattresses come from the factory every morning. Mama’s team have been hard at work over the past 4 months. This is our 25th year of partnership with Mama Wandoa, her children, her grandchildren and now her great grandchildren along with the exceptional volunteers from Upendo!
Immediately following the pre-distribution meeting we travelled to a school near Mama’s house where we were met by 700 smiling faces of children and their parents.
Stay tuned as we work through the next 10 days handing out 7000 bedkits and proceed with the new sleep project supported by Mama and her team.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 13
It’s late Sunday and we’ve just arrived after quite a gruelling couple of days. Lots of waiting and a loooooong flight, but we are all in good spirits and will sleep well tonight. Wendy and Benjamin met us at the airport.
We are meeting at Mama Wandoa’s house at 9:00 Monday morning for a pre-distribution meeting followed by the first distribution.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 12
Pre-distribution preparations:
The 3 photos below show the Upendo volunteers who did the packing of the 7000 bedkits. They are all stored safely. The black coloured bedkits are for small children and the blue coloured bedkits are for older children, all carefully labelled for boys and girls.
All 7000 children are waiting eagerly for their new uniforms and a mattress to enable them to have a peaceful night’s sleep. From Monday the 14th to 25th July we will happily tell the children "LALA SALAMA".
At this time, the SCAW Canadian volunteers are on their way to Tanzania. They should be almost half-way through their journey so stay tuned as there will be lots of excitement to write about. Both teams are eager to work together to ensure more children will have a good night’s sleep.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2025: May 29
Sadly, today was the last day of distribution . . . but with sadness comes happiness as we knew we would be providing 400 children with the gift of a bedkit.
We started our day at with a class of 6 years old. Their excitement was infectious. They were smiling and jumping up and down. We then had the opportunity to meet with some of the older students of the grade 6 class. When we told them what their present entailed they couldn’t help but have massive smiles.
We took some time for interviews with 2 parents along with 2 teachers. They all agreed that the mattress was the number one item and really appreciated all the items. They couldn’t be more thankful for the gifts of hope.
The end of the day was capped off by a lovely grade 1 class who were a joy to be around. It’s sad to say farewell as we truly enjoyed our experience in South Africa. We are thrilled to know that our combined efforts have ensured that 2000 bedkits were distributed and now a number of children will have a good night’s sleep.
Team South Africa, 2025
Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2025: May 28
Today’s distribution started with the older grade 4 children whose command of English is very good.
After we introduced ourselves they shared with us a rendition of their national anthem, after which we sang our national anthem. Their voices were superior to ours.
We received many thank yous with smiling faces and pure joy.
Afterwards we had the opportunity to see a house nearby. There were 11 people living in approximately 250 square ft. including a new mother and a 2 week old baby. There was no bathroom nearby but there was well water.
We had a quick tour of the settlement and saw the entrepreneurial spirit alive and well. It was interesting to see where the children live. We also met an after-school tutor who helped the kids after school.
Team South Africa, 2025
Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2025: May 27
The day began on a very positive note as the children were dressed in their new outfits and ready for us! We had delivered over 300 bedkits to a school that was about 1/2 hr from our hotel. The contrast of where we stay and the conditions of the settlements are quite startling. The need is great. There were over 1600 children attending the school with the average class having 52 students.
We have been blessed to have some older children assist the young students with their bedkits as the only logical place to take photos is in the parking lot. While we took a break it was interesting to hear about what the kids were doing and how far they travelled to school. They seemed quite educated on how local politics work and knew the roles of a Mayor and Council.
Team South Africa, 2025
Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2025: May 26
Good morning Ma’am , , , Is this gift for me? Absolutely yes!
Thank you so much! Thank you so much! Thank you!!
Our third day of distribution was a huge success! The principal and vice principal met us, and everything went smoothly. I want to give a special shoutout to Sanette for all the hard work.
We learned that most of the kids come from single-family homes where the mom is the main caregiver. Out of the 200 graduates, we think about 18 might find jobs. Most of the parents are unemployed, unfortunately.
Our driver, Theo, has been a lifesaver in helping us bridge the language barrier. We really appreciate his thoughtful gifts to the team.
Team South Africa, 2025
Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Kenya, 2025: May 23
We finalized our last bedkit distribution on May 15th at Oloolchura and it went as smoothly as the distribution the day before at Oloolaimutia. Both of these schools are in the area of Kenya known as Maasai Mara. One of our team members interviewed several of the students' mothers to learn that all of the items in the bedkits were treasured and more school items such as books, stationary, pens & crayons were welcomed. Many of the families in this area have as many as 7 children, and the mattress in the bedkits might be used by more than one child.
We were entertained by some of the students and several of the Maasai Mara warriors after the children received their bedkits. The mamas were very anxious to adorn us with small bracelets and necklaces to say thank you to their new friends from our SCAW team.
After we left the school we were able to spend 3 - 4 hours with the help of our driver Charles in the game reserve where we saw many wonderful animals. Beautiful African faces and beautiful wild African animals - make a day we won't forget!!
Team Kenya, 2025
Rotary Club of Nairobi 🇰🇪 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2025: May 23
Today we were up early to head to the distribution site.
Our day was filled with surprises and joy.
We arrived at the distribution site at 8:30 a.m. and we could feel the excitement.
The older children (ages 9-12) could clearly understand what was being given from Canada. We took the opportunity to show them what was in the bedkit. We explained how far we had come and how they were gifts.
There are certain days in life that are incredibly special. Today was one of them. From the hugs, to the beautiful songs, to the excitement on their faces, are things that will remain in our memories. One 10 year old girl said it best when she said, “ THANK YOU. I will remember you forever”.
The kids were very happy with the quality of the bedkits. Many kids kept asking for the “sponges” (which we soon figured out were the mattresses).
As we left at the end of the day . . . the smiles and the waves kept coming.
Team South Africa, 2025
Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2025: May 22
Today was the day we came for . . . to see the children’s smiles. We drove an hour out of town to the famous gold fields. The school was near a small settlement.
The children were shy but well behaved. We asked their names but they were very soft spoken. They opened up when we had a break to sing songs like the Hokey Pokey and The Wheels on the Bus. The quality of the bedkits was very good and included many items the children will find useful.
We were very impressed. One of the children said, "Namhlanje ndizo lala in peace" which translates to "tonight I'll sleep in peace." That phrase warmed our hearts.
Team South Africa, 2025
Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2025: May 20 and 21
May 20
We awoke to a beautiful day in Honeydew, on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa and met with the other members of our team, Sue and Warren.
Our driver picked us up and we travelled to the factory where the mattresses are manufactured. We met up with Sanette from the Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon and had a tour of the factory. We saw the completed mattresses along with some of the additional items contained in the bedkits. Sanette informed us that the supplier of the hats in the bedkits was able to purchase two more sewing machines and hire two additional employees with revenue from the order. Excellent news!
After meeting Sanette again in the evening and seeing her level of enthusiasm, we are looking forward to a successful distribution.
Team South Africa, 2025
Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦
May 21
We were up early today as we had 3 factory tours ahead of us. After a bit of a drive we arrived at the factory that constructs and makes the mattresses for the children. It truly was an interesting process from the mixing of the chemicals, to cutting the massive foam blocks to sewing the coverings. The children will certainly sleep well on their new beds!
Our next visit was to a small shop where they sewed the tracksuits that each child will recieve. The lovely female owner showed us how they create the suit and showcased the 15 sewing machines and staff that worked diligently to produce the 2000 tracksuits . . . the children will look sharp in these for sure. The last visit was to the supplier of the school supplies. We were treated to a tour of this distribution center that serves all of South Africa. All in all, it was a very informative and interesting day . . . tomorrow we get to meet the children as it's our first distribution day! We are really looking forward to meeting them!
Team South Africa, 2025
Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Kenya, 2025: May 17
We’ve had a really wonderful experience in Kenya as we delivered 7000 bedkits to children.
Jamba, Karibu! Hello, Welcome! We heard these words everywhere we travelled in Kenya, always accompanied by a friendly smile. Travelling the roads to our next distribution we received spontaneous waves and warm smiles from many of the people we passed. If we stopped at a roadside stall or restaurant this kind welcome was always offered. Everywhere, people were so kind and full of grace, we felt we were among friends.
This feeling was very evident at meetings with Rotarians and especially so at the distributions. Teachers warmly welcomed us and the learners waved excitedly or whispered a shy “Hello” or “Good Morning” to the group of strangers they’d been patiently waiting to arrive. It was very humbling and inspiring to be on the receiving end of their acknowledgment of our visit.
The importance to the community of the gift provided by SCAW donors at home was easy to see. Sometimes before the distribution began, and sometimes after it was finished and the children were heading home with their new bedkits, we enjoyed heartfelt speeches of gratitude from the local chief, priest and once the bishop, as well as from the teachers. Their warm welcomes, thanks and prayers clearly showed us just how much the whole community appreciated and acknowledged this gift for their children. We leave behind new friends and acquaintances in Kenya as we head back to Canada, accompanied by a real sense of having been part of something that has truly made a difference for the families and communities who received bedkits. I know the memories of how we were made to feel so welcome and so appreciated in a country far from home will last a lifetime.
Team Kenya, 2025
Rotary Club of Nairobi 🇰🇪 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Kenya, 2025: May 15 and Final Uganda Blog, 2025
This morning, like every other morning, we are greeted with a warm good morning from Charles who is not only our driver but also is someone who ensures our safety and someone who is a helping hand on a daily basis. Today we are travelling to Masai Mara which is considered the eighth wonder of the world. After a 3 hour road trip we arrive at Okoolaimatia Masai School and are greeted by happy smiling children. It is a moment to remember.
The bedkit distribution at this site goes very well with the help from teachers, rangers, the Rotary Club and our SCAW team. After our distribution of 1000 bedkits, we were welcomed by the head teachers of four schools from the neighbouring villages and the bishop of the Masai people who thanked the many donors and volunteers for suppling this special gift to the children in Kenya.
After the speeches we were entertained by enthusiastic well-rehearsed children who sang a traditional Masai folk song followed by a very touching poem which spoke of donors, volunteers and the gift of a good night’s sleep. It truly was a moment to remember how important it is for Sleeping Children around the World, to continue providing a good night sleep.
Team Kenya, 2025
Rotary Club of Nairobi 🇰🇪 + SCAW 🇨🇦
Final Uganda Blog, 2025: May 15
IT IS A WRAP!
Team Uganda 🇺🇬 🇨🇦 successfully completed our final distribution and our hearts are full with the knowledge that 8500 children are getting a restful night’s sleep.
Team work makes the dream work and we send our sincere thanks to the Inner Wheel women from both Kampala Original and Kampala Central.
Our team will miss your laughter, your hard work and the love you show for the children.
Team Uganda, 2025
Uganda 🇺🇬 +SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Kenya, 2025: May 15
We arrived at Oljabeti Community School to see an enthusiastic group of children waiting for us. They sang and danced for us in a spontaneous way, which was lovely to see. Thanks to the help of our donors back home, the great work of the Rotary Club of Nairobi, and the teachers and scouts at the school location, 1228 happy ‘learners’ received their bedkits from SCAW today.
Afterwards, we relaxed and enjoyed the official presentation of dancing and singing, and some heartfelt speeches, driving home to us just how important these bedkits are to the children and their families. It was so nice to see the parents sitting nearby watching all the proceedings. Some of the children and their families had to walk ten kilometres to get to the distribution site, a real testament to exactly how valuable the bedkits are to these families
Team Kenya, 2025
Rotary Club of Nairobi 🇰🇪 + SCAW 🇨🇦