SCAW BLOG: HONDURAS, 2026: august 21
I am a newbie at SCAW on my maiden trip and what has made the most impression on me during the first week would be the people.
First there are the children, the reason we are here. While handing out the bedkits I could see in their innocent eyes their appreciation of this gift of kindness. They were not only thrilled to receive the physical bedkit, but also were happy for the physical presence of the SCAW volunteers and the Rotary and Rotaract members who provided this to them and who interacted with them. It was obvious to the children that people care about them and this provides them with hope and inspiration for their future.
Next, a big shout-out to my team members who provide great camaraderie and support. Even though we are all from different backgrounds we are of like minds, in addition to being a well-travelled group with adventurous spirits. Most importantly, we all have a shared passion for helping others. Equally deserving of a shout-out are our OVPs, the Honduras Rotarians. They are fantastic in a number of ways. They are well-organized and professional which made the distributions go smoothly. It was a pleasure interacting with them and gaining more insight about the benefits SCAW provides to the children in the community. They are great hosts and have shared meals and welcomed us into their homes. Also on the support team are the Rotaracts (young Rotarians under the age of 35). We thoroughly enjoyed hearing their different stories and their dedicated community service is to be admired. These are the people who provide the foundation of the future.
I am looking forward to week number two of people helping people and seeing the happiness and appreciation on the faces of the children.
Team Honduras, 2026
Rotary Club of Tegucigalpa 🇭🇳 + SCAW Canada 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: HONDURAS, 2026: AUGUST 20
Last night we attended a Rotary club meeting and dinner. The highlight of the meeting was the enthusiastic singing of both national anthems. Danielle made a great speech outlining SCAW procedures such as country selection and the number of countries volunteers will visit or remotely support. She also talked about how 100% of your donation pays for the bedkit items, while of course thanking the Rotary club for their amazing support.
All our distributions start early with a quick breakfast at 6:00 and then we are on the road. However, we are not the only early risers. The children’s parents accompany the children and wait patiently outside the secure area to greet them and carry home the much-welcomed bedkit. An added bonus for the children is a treat donated by a Rotarian for the journey home. Today was a fairly large distribution of 700+ bedkits so there were lots of happy families.
Goodnight as we will be up early for the 5th distribution.
Team Honduras, 2026
Rotary Club of Tegucigalpa 🇭🇳 + SCAW Canada 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: HONDURAS, 2026: August 19
The third day of distributions in Honduras has successfully been completed. 1656 happy children have walked away with a bedkit. A $40 donation is all it takes to make a difference in the life of a child. The bedkits we give them provide the children with a good night’s sleep giving them a better chance to be successful in life.
It is such a pleasure for SCAW volunteers to be able to hand out the donated bedkits. Everywhere we go, we are greeted by people who thank us for coming.
So far we have not had interactions with the children’s parents; however, the teachers from the various schools accompanying the children to the distributions express over and over the gratitude felt by their school districts.
Many of the schools had made signs thanking both SCAW as well as the Rotarians, who help us make the distributions successful.
Waiting to have their picture taken, the children sit with broad smiles on their faces, holding up the signs
Team Honduras, 2026
Rotary Club of Tegucigalpa 🇭🇳 + SCAW Canada 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: HONDURAS, 2026: August 18
Today was our second distribution day in Aldea Monte Redondo. We happily greeted 324 children and with the help of numerous volunteers, we finished our distribution before noon!
We then made our way to visit the mattress factory that made the mattresses and pillows for the bedkits. We were pleased to see all is well as it’s our first year partnering with them. All foam is made and measured for bedkits on site.
Mattress and pillow covers are made and packaged for bedkit distribution.
What resonated with me today while touring this facility was how important these mattresses are for the children who will be receiving them. SCAW’s whole philosophy is grounded in the importance of every child having a good night’s sleep for their overall heath and well-being.
Team Honduras, 2026
Rotary Club of Tegucigalpa 🇭🇳 + SCAW Canada 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG:TEAM HONDURAS, 2026: AUGUST 17
Monday, August 17th marked our first - and biggest - bedkit distribution for the SCAW 2026 Honduras Team and my first-ever distribution. We distributed 771 bedkits to children in need. It was truly such an impactful day and one I will never forget. We gathered at one of the oldest and largest schools in Tegucigalpa, a school with approximately 3,000 students that is celebrating its 148th year.
When we pulled up to the school, I instantly felt overwhelmed with emotion - not only because of the sheer magnitude of the school itself, but also because of the impact of what we were about to do. Immediately, I was blown away by how kind, thoughtful, organized and committed everyone was. The Rotarians, the school staff, the student volunteers- everyone played such an important role. The Mayor’s wife honoured us with a visit. She appreciated all of our hard work and was happy to see the distribution process in real time.
However, the children made the most impact. Their long bus rides and early arrival times didn’t dampen their joy or beautiful smiles. My favourite moments of the day were: talking to the children in a mix of Spanish and English, receiving high-fives, props and hugs from them as they walked to go get their bedkit, and experiencing their excitement and happiness as they received their bed kits. These are all memories I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
As my first-ever distribution day comes to a close, my heart is filled with gratitude that I am able to have this experience alongside my mum. I came here hoping to make a difference in the lives of these children, but, after only Day 1, I am realizing how deeply they will have made a difference in mine.
Team Honduras, 2026
Rotary Club of Tegucigalpa 🇭🇳 + SCAW Canada 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: TANZANIA, 2026: August 14
Team Tanzania 2026: Family, Friendship and Community
For two unforgettable weeks in Dar es Salaam, Team Tanzania 2026 experienced far more than a 10-day distribution. We became part of a community, built friendships, shared countless smiles and witnessed the extraordinary power of family working together to give back.
Over 10 days, we visited 10 schools and provided 700 children each day with a bedkit—7,000 children in total. Every child received a knapsack, school uniform (blue skirt or pants and white t-shirt), T-shirt, flip-flops, mattress, sheet, mosquito net, notebooks, pens and pencils, and a colourful kanga, a traditional piece of Tanzanian cloth that can be used in so many ways: as a towel, a baby carrier, a decorative wrap and much more.
Each morning, before the distribution began, we spoke with mothers and fathers about the importance of a good night's sleep and showed them what their children would be receiving. For many of the children, the flip-flops were especially meaningful; some arrived at school barefoot.
Although our days started early, the energy and enthusiasm of the children inspired us every step of the way. And each school brought us into a different local community, giving us a glimpse into everyday life in Tanzania that few visitors ever experience.
Our time in Tanzania was also about family.
We were privileged to visit Mama Wandoa and her family on their farm outside Dar es Salaam and attend her church, where we were treated to an incredible choir. We met her three children, Benjamin, Wendy and Eunice, who help lead the work as Sleeping Children Around the World's overseas partners in Tanzania, as well as some of her grandchildren, who are also involved on the ground.
The Wandoa family is incredibly close, generous and selfless. For more than two decades, they have given their time and energy to serving their community through Sleeping Children Around the World. At the heart of it all is the formidable matriarch, Mama Wandoa, a woman who is deeply respected throughout Tanzania. We were honoured to work alongside her family and to see firsthand how their commitment to others has become a family tradition passed from one generation to the next.
We also discovered that a distribution is built on friendship and partnership.
Our volunteers worked side by side with Mama Wandoa's family, local volunteers, charity UPENDO and our long-standing mattress partner, Unoplast. Not everyone spoke English, and the few Swahili words we knew were certainly not enough to carry a conversation. But somehow, communication happened. A smile, a gesture, a shared laugh or simply working together was enough.
We were one team.
The Dream Team, Tanzania 2026
Everyone understood why we were there: to give 7,000 children something as simple - and as important - as a safe, comfortable place to sleep. Better sleep can help prepare a child for another day of learning, playing and growing. We may never know what impact these mattresses and bedkits will have years from now. But perhaps that's the point. Big change often begins with small individual acts.
The experience also reminded us why travel with purpose can be so powerful. We didn't just see Tanzania through the eyes of a visitor. We met its people, visited homes and communities, shared meals and music, stood in schools and churches, and experienced the warmth, generosity and resilience of Tanzanian families.
We came to Tanzania to help children. We left feeling that Tanzania had given something to us, too.
The 2026 Team Tanzania experience was ultimately about family, friendship and community - the belief that we are all connected and that each of us can make a difference.
These small acts of kindness won't solve all of the world's problems. But they are an important reminder that kindness and goodness still exist in the world, and that there are people everywhere who believe in giving back.
If you want to travel with purpose, experience a country and its people beyond the sanitized tourist version, and make a meaningful contribution to children and communities around the world, consider travelling with Sleeping Children Around the World.
You may arrive thinking you're going to change a child's life.
You may leave realizing that the experience changed yours, too.
Team Tanzania, 2026
Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: TANZANIA, 2026: August 13
SCAW has a long-standing partnership for bedkit distribution in Tanzania, led by the indefatigable Mama Wandoa. She and her team have participated in 25 distributions since 2000.
Last year, the Canadian team included current SCAW Board Vice-Chair, Debbie Will-Dryden, and a student from McGill University, Teegan Nordstrom. Together with Mama Wandoa and Dr. Reut Gruber (McGill), they published an academic paper in the journal Sleep Medicine: X as part of a special issue on “Sleep Without Borders: Breaking Boundaries and Barriers To Promote Sleep Health” that describes the community-driven approach that has been improving children’s sleep for more than two decades.
In a commentary published in the same issue, sleep expert Dr. Oliviero Bruni noted that the Will-Dryden paper “arrives at a moment when the field is actively reframing sleep as a population health imperative rather than a purely clinical endpoint”. He highlights its “quietly radical proposition that constructing a safe, climate-appropriate micro-sleep environment - a mattress, a net, basic bedding, and culturally tuned education - can be a scalable lever for child development in low-resource settings.”
It is encouraging to see the efforts of the Canadian SCAW volunteers and their local partners gaining recognition within the academic sleep community.
Bringing this important discussion into the academic world helps elevate a simple grass roots practical intervention into a broader public health conversation. The hope is that as awareness builds, local schools, communities, and government decision-makers will increasingly recognize the importance of sleep environments for children and adopt or expand similar initiatives - extending the reach of SCAW’s work and vision far beyond its distributions.
Team Tanzania, 2026
Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: TANZANIA, 2026: August 11
Two Home Visits, Two Families, One Shared Hope
After one of our recent school distributions in Tanzania, our Sleeping Children Around the World team had the opportunity to visit two of the students in their homes. These visits are always a powerful reminder that behind every bedkit we deliver is a child, a family and a story.
The first visit was to see a nine-year-old boy who lives with his grandparents. His parents live about 12 hours away, in a small village, with his older and younger brothers.
His home was incredibly small. The main family room was about the size of a large closet, with two small couches, a little refrigerator and a table. A fan sat nearby, but the electricity was off when we visited, so it wasn't running. There was also a tiny bedroom where the boy and his grandparents all slept together, sharing a single mattress and one mosquito net.
The family was overjoyed that their grandson would now have his own mattress and his own mosquito net - giving him a more comfortable place to sleep and helping protect him from malaria.
His grandfather does not work, while his grandmother earns a small income by collecting plastic and glass bottles. She is paid just a few Tanzanian shillings for each kilogram she collects. They have very little, but what they do have is filled with love. Four well-worn stuffed animals sat proudly on one of the couches - a small but touching glimpse into the care and affection surrounding this little boy.
When we asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he proudly told us he wanted to be a doctor. His grandmother beamed with pride.
Then she noticed the Canadian flag on our SCAW shirts. She pointed to it, clapped her hands and repeatedly expressed her gratitude to the Canadian donors and to Sleeping Children Around the World. She understood that people thousands of kilometres away had chosen to help her grandson - and 6,999 other children - sleep better.
Our second home visit was a more sombre visit.
We met a young family with two daughters. The mother has been sick since the birth of her youngest daughter nine years ago. The family has travelled long distances to numerous public hospitals searching for answers, but after years without a diagnosis or meaningful help, they have given up.
The family rents a single small room each month, where the four of them live and sleep. They cook their meals in a shared hallway alongside the other tenants in the rental complex. The father previously worked as a printer for a newspaper, but he lost his job. Now he occasionally finds manual labour, but the work is unreliable and he is understandably discouraged.
There is no social safety net to turn to when someone is sick or unemployed. This family is largely on its own.
The father's gratitude was unmistakable. For a family facing so many challenges, something as simple as a mattress, bedding and a mosquito net represents comfort, dignity and the knowledge that someone cares.
When we visit the schools, we see the children's happiness. They smile, laugh and eagerly receive their bedkits. But we also notice the things that aren't always visible in a photograph: worn-out shoes, children walking barefoot, and clothing that is dirty, torn or well past its best days.
Many of the schools we visit provide lunches for a very small fee, helping ensure that children receive at least one good meal during the day. For families struggling to make ends meet, these small supports can make an enormous difference.
Like parents and grandparents everywhere, these families share the same hopes and dreams for their children. They want their children to be healthy. They want them to go to school. They want them to have opportunities they never had themselves.
Maybe a better night's sleep won't solve every challenge these children face but it can give them comfort. It can help protect them from malaria. It can give them a little more energy for school and another day of learning.
And, perhaps most importantly, it tells a child and their family: you matter, and people around the world care about your future.
That is what Sleeping Children Around the World is all about — one child, one bedkit and one family at a time.
Team Tanzania, 2026
Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: Tanzania, 2026: August 11
We travelled north of Dar es Salaam to distribute 700 bedkits at one of the older schools in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood. This school was established in 1961, the year of Tanzania’s independence. The school slowly grew to over capacity, so three other schools have been built in the area and a fourth is needed. This school now has 1895 students, from kindergarten to grade 7.
The School
Knapsacks waiting
Kindergarten
This information was given to me by one of the school’s teachers, Miss Diana. Miss Diana teaches grade seven and has a total of 206 children, 103 in each of two classrooms! We had a lovely conversation under a tree in the schoolyard. The team was interested to find out more about the life of a schoolchild and this conversation increased our interest.
Chalkboard lessons
Classroom
She does say that the children are usually well behaved even with so many together. Everything is provided for the children but they do ask for donations on a pay what you can basis from the parents for their food at lunch.
Cooking lunch
Teacher and his students
School friends
We also talked about the teacher’s fatigue at the end of a busy day and how a good nights sleep is important for her as well as for the children.
Empty schoolyard
The bedkits are so welcome and well-received, with thanks to our donors.
Team Tanzania, 2026
Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
scaw blog: Tanzania, 2026: August 9
A Weekend in the Wild
After an incredible week of meeting 3,500 little ones face-to-face and handing over a bedkit to each on behalf of our donors, our team traded mattresses and delivery trucks for safari vehicles and the wilderness of Tanzania!
With the weekend off, we set out to experience the natural beauty of this remarkable country - and what an adventure it was! We travelled through the game park keeping our eyes peeled for wildlife around every bend. There’s something magical about being out in the bush - the anticipation of what might appear and those unforgettable moments when you suddenly find yourself face-to-face with Africa’s incredible animals.
Our mini safari gave the team a chance to step away, recharge, laugh together, and soak up a little of the adventure that surrounds us here.
Here are some of our favourite moments from the weekend:
But the adventure doesn’t stop here.
Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we’re back on the road - back to the school communities and back to our mission of giving 7,000 children a safe and comfortable place to sleep.
The bush has recharged our batteries. Now it’s time to get back to work!
Team Tanzania, 2026
Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: TANZANIA, 2026: AUGUST 6
Today, our team had the opportunity to speak with two teachers and two parents about children’s sleep. Their insights offered a meaningful glimpse into daily life and sleep practices in this community.
They described a typical sleep environment in which multiple children often share a mat on the floor in one - or two-room homes. These homes are generally open to the outside through windows and roofing, exposing the family to environmental noise and mosquitoes. We learned that families tend to follow similar sleep schedules—children and parents alike reportedly sleep about eight hours per night. Many children wake as early as 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. to prepare for school.
What stood out most was the shared belief that children require the same amount of sleep as adults. When we explained that school-aged children (6–13 years) typically need 9–11 hours of sleep within a 24-hour period, there was genuine surprise. This gap highlights an important opportunity for education. Sleep is not simply for rest - it is a critical foundation for physical health (e.g., immunity), emotional regulation, and cognitive functioning, particularly during development.
Teachers reinforced this perspective by sharing their classroom experiences. They often observe students becoming very sleepy in the afternoon, to the point where naps are sometimes encouraged during the school day. This practical response reflects both the reality of students’ fatigue and the need for broader awareness of healthy sleep habits.
Encouragingly, the teachers we spoke with agreed that incorporating education about sleep and its role in health into the science curriculum would be valuable. Increasing awareness - among both educators and families - could have meaningful impacts on students’ well-being and learning potential.
La la salama - sleep well.
Team Tanzania, 2026
Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: TANZANIA, 2026: August 5
Behind Every Mattress is a Partnership That Makes Dreams Possible
Before a single child receives a bedkit, an incredible amount of teamwork happens behind the scenes.
This week, our team visited the Unoplast factory in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where more than 7,000 colourful mattresses were prepared for the 10 days of bedkit distributions taking place. Watching the mattresses move through production was a reminder that every bedkit represents the efforts of many dedicated partners working together.
High density foam ready to be cut into mattresses
For more than 20 years, Mama Wandoa has partnered with Unoplast to ensure every child receives a high-quality mattress. The company has been in business since 1965 and has become much more than a supplier - they are an invaluable partner in Sleeping Children Around the World's mission.
Their generosity goes well beyond manufacturing the mattresses. Unoplast continues to produce the mattresses at cost, without making a profit. They also store all 7,000 mattresses and, for each distribution, deliver the required 7,000 mattresses directly to the school using their own company truck and driver.
We saw how they were produced and how the colourful fabric with its vibrant patterns is sewn on each mattress. After receiving their knapsack - filled with school supplies, clothing, mosquito netting and other essential items - the colourful mattress is the final piece that the children receive. It is always a special moment to see the children's faces light up with excitement. Not only will they enjoy a better night's sleep, but they'll also have something beautiful and colourful to call their own.
A mountain of mattresses. The girls love the bright flamingos.
There's even a Canadian connection. Some of the materials used to manufacture these mattresses originate from a Canadian company, reflecting the international cooperation that makes this program possible. Just like Sleeping Children Around the World, these distributions succeed because of strong partnerships. Alongside Mama Wandoa, her children and grandchildren and the Upendo AIDS Information and Counselling Centre, Unoplast plays a vital role in helping us reach thousands of children across Tanzania.
To everyone at Unoplast, thank you for your generosity, commitment, and more than two decades of partnership. Together, we are helping thousands of children sleep better, dream bigger, and build brighter futures.
Team Tanzania, 2026
Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: TANZANIA. 2026: August 4
Distribution Day 2 - Highlights in Photos
The mamas have entrusted their little ones to us and are keeping a close eye on the proceedings.
Mattresses unloaded and bundled and ready to be taken home.
Children heading to change room to receive new kangas (multi-purpose piece of cotton) and then to photo site.
Ready for photos
Michael and Alice getting in shape for handing out the bedkits.
Choose your favourite colour mattress.
Tonight, I will sleep, dream and wake up rested in my new bedkit.
Thank you to our hard-working volunteers, especially Mama Wandoa and her family who created this cottage industry, that so many children and their families benefit from: A special thank you to our donors who make the bedkits possible.
Team Tanzania, 2026
Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: TANZANIA, 2026: AUGUST 3
Today we began our first distribution. We travelled from the hotel to our first site and were greeted by the joyful shouts and smiles of the children. We were also met with a lovely crowd of 20 volunteers from our overseas partner organization UPENDO. They were led and supervised by Mama Wandoa and several members of her family who came to help. Before starting the distribution we were able to meet with the waiting parents and, thanks to Wendy’s help with translation, were able to share with the parents the benefits of sleep.
They were excited to hear about the items in the bedkit and rejoiced over each item we shared. With all the advance preparations arranged by Mama Wandoa and her team, things ran smoothly and we were able to present 700 children with bedkits. There were many smiles, thank yous and shouts of joy from both children and their waiting parents when they received their bedkits.
We are excited to see the joys and challenges that will come as we continue with 9 more days of distribution.
Team Tanzania, 2026
Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: TANZANIA, 2026: August 3
It’s Sunday in Dar es Salaam and we are off to Mama Wandoa’s farm, south of the city. There she built a church for the community. We arrived to the sound of joyful singing by a visiting choir. It was an uplifting start to the day.
We had a walk around to see the chickens and vegetation, including mango trees, then Mama gave us a taste of mango juice. Delicious!
Later in the day we checked out the bedkits and got ourselves organized for our first day of distributions. We are excited to meet the children and wish them “la la salama” (sleep well).
These three photos were from the previous day.
Team Tanzania, 2026
Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: TANZANIA, 2026: August 2
Arrival in Tanzania
Today the team arrived in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania tired after a 24 hour trek from Toronto via a (quick!) stop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We were happy to be greeted by Wendy and Benjamin, volunteers who are also the children of our local partner, Mama Wandoa of UPENDO. Mama has been the oversees partner of SCAW in Tanzania for over twenty years.
After a brief check-in at the hotel to clean up and unpack, we met Mama in her home which serves as the hub for the manufacturing and storage of the 7000 bedkits that will be distributed by our team over the next two weeks.
Pictured are bedkits for boys (blue) and girls (black) and the sewing room where they’re created, an open-air upper-floor room with about 10 sewing machines, each one different as they have been donated and collected over the years.
This year’s bedkit contain a mattress, sheet, backpack, clothing, school supplies, shoes, and mosquito net. They also include an item called a kanga which is a very common item in Tanzania. A kanga is a colourful rectangular piece of fabric worn by men and women and used for many purposes such as a head/body wrap, baby sling, or a sheet. The kanga often includes some writing on it that is an uplifting Swahili proverb.
The team is excited for the days ahead!
Team Tanzania, 2026
Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: TANZANIA, 2026: July 30
Preparing to change 7,000 lives . . .
Soon, Team Tanzania 2026 will embark on a mission with our partner, the Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre, to provide bedkits for 7,000 children in Tanzania.
These photos below show volunteers in Tanzania packing and counting the bedkits for each distribution site.
Every bedkit will help a child sleep better, dream bigger, and wake up with renewed hope for tomorrow.
Come along with us in the coming weeks as we share our daily adventures - the challenges, the unforgettable smiles of the children, and the experiences that touch our hearts each day.
The adventure is just beginning, and we can't wait to share every step with you.
Stay tuned . . .
Team Tanzania, 2026
Upendo AIDS Information and Counseling Centre 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: SRI LANKA, 2026: July 9
Today we ventured to the outskirts of Columbo to an inner city school in one of the poorest areas of Columbo. Next to the river there was heavy flooding in November with the streets 10 feet under water. Our final day’s 500 bedkits were really needed.
The majority of families here are single parent families as crime and addiction has had its effect on one or both parents. The principal of the school had previously been a teacher in central Columbo and, when offered the promotion to principal, chose this school over others to have the greatest impact possible. She cares deeply for the children and you can see it in the smiles she receives from the students. She impressed upon us that this gift, to a small child, is a life changing experience.
Thank you to the donors as your gift has changed their lives!
Team Sri Lanka, 2026
Rotary Club of Kelaniya 🇱🇰 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: SRI LANKA, 2026: July 8
Today began with a truly unforgettable experience. Early this morning, elephants from the nearby elephant orphanage in Pinnawala walked right past our hotel on their way to the river for their daily bath. It was such a thrill to watch these magnificent animals stroll down the street before splashing and playing in the water.
Most of us even had the chance to touch the elephants and take photos with them.
Our fearless team leader, Sue, went one step further by climbing into the river to help bathe them!
It was a wonderful start to the day, and we are grateful to our Rotarian Overseas Partners for arranging this for us.
From Pinnawala, we travelled to Kadawatha for another bedkit distribution. We received a warm welcome with traditional drummers and dancers, as well as smiling children who greeted us with beautiful bouquets of lotus flowers. It was a lovely setting, and everything ran smoothly, making it another successful distribution.
Taking their bedits home by tuktuk
Leah and Warren hamming it up for the SCAW camera.
Today marked our 11th distribution out of 12, so we are almost at the finish line! This evening we arrived in Colombo, where we’ll spend the next two nights. Tomorrow brings our final distribution, followed by a meeting and dinner with our Sri Lankan Rotarian partners. It will be a fitting way to wrap up such a meaningful and memorable trip.
Team Sri Lanka, 2026
Rotary Club of Kelaniya 🇱🇰 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW BLOG: Sri Lanka, 2026: July 7
Tea Leaves, Bedkits, and Tomorrow’s Elephants
Our morning began at the beautiful Blue Field Tea Gardens, where we were welcomed by our guide and dressed for the occasion. We were fitted with colourful head scarves, wrap-around skirts, and traditional tea baskets strapped to our backs before heading into the rolling green hills to pick tea leaves ourselves.
It quickly became clear that harvesting tea is an art. We learned how to select only the tender new leaves and then followed the entire journey from the field through the drying and processing stages.
Of course, we couldn’t leave without enjoying a cup of fresh Orange Pekoe tea and spending a little time browsing the wonderful tea shop.
From there, it was time for the real purpose of our journey.
We travelled to Gampola, where 787 bedkits were distributed to children from 14 schools. Every one of those schools had been affected by the recent monsoon, making today’s distribution especially meaningful. Despite everything these families have endured, the resilience and spirit of the community shone through.
One thing our team couldn’t stop talking about was how incredibly well-behaved the children were. Their smiles said everything. The Canadian flag pins and little Canadian flags we brought along were treasured gifts, and two simple Frisbees quickly became the stars of the afternoon. It’s amazing how something so small can create so much joy.
Before heading to our hotel, we made one final stop at the Susana Spice and Herb Gardens. Our guide introduced us to an incredible variety of spices, herbs, and traditional remedies. Apparently, there was a natural cure for almost everything—from aches and pains to promises of a longer life and a healthier body. If all the claims are true, we should all be returning home in peak condition!
There’s plenty of excitement for tomorrow morning because around 8:30, we’re hoping to watch the elephants make their daily walk down to the river—a sight many people say is one of Sri Lanka’s most memorable experiences.
We’ll let you know tomorrow if it lives up to the anticipation. Somehow, I have a feeling it will.
Team Sri Lanka, 2026
Rotary Club of Kelaniya 🇱🇰 + SCAW 🇨🇦