Philippines: Day 5 — Going home with gifts
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| From Philippines Photo Album 5 |
These children come from near and far. Perhaps the journey is a short walk or an one-hour drive in a jeepney. They come by motorized tricycle, bus, or motorcycle. And some walk up to 3 kilometres to get to the site.
What a treat it is to see these same children at the end of the day, their faces beaming as they depart the site with their bedkit!
Nancy Holt
for the 2007 SCAW Philippines Travelling Team
Uganda: They're on their way
Most of the Uganda team left Toronto airport on their way to Kampala last night. More reports will be posted as they carry out the SCAW 2007 Uganda bedkit distribution. Sieg Will is joining them later in the week.
Pictured here: (Left to Right) Kathy Devine, Blair Lesage, Linda Lesage, Grant and Leslie Clark (Team Leaders), Debbie Will-Dryden.
Philippines: Day 4 — Antipolo’s rich history
Revised: Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Our first distribution was in the Antipolo area, which is about a one-hour drive from our hotel in Manila.
Antipolo is named after a type of tree. It is home to a beautiful church which holds the The Virgin of Peace and Good Voyage. However, it is known by WW2 survivors as a fierce battleground. One of the last battles towards the end the war in 1945 was fought in the hills of Antipolo where many men on both sides lost their lives.
There is still much poverty in the area but today 300 children have received a gift of bedkits, clothes, and school supplies which gives encouragement for today and hope for their future.
Revised by Nancy Holt,
as supervised by Dr. Juan Torres,
on behalf of the 2007 SCAW Philippines Team
(Yes, he is standing over my shoulder right now making sure this gets done while giggling the whole time.)
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| From Philippines Photo Album 4 |
Antipolo is named after a type of tree. It is home to a beautiful church which holds the The Virgin of Peace and Good Voyage. However, it is known by WW2 survivors as a fierce battleground. One of the last battles towards the end the war in 1945 was fought in the hills of Antipolo where many men on both sides lost their lives.
There is still much poverty in the area but today 300 children have received a gift of bedkits, clothes, and school supplies which gives encouragement for today and hope for their future.
Revised by Nancy Holt,
as supervised by Dr. Juan Torres,
on behalf of the 2007 SCAW Philippines Team
(Yes, he is standing over my shoulder right now making sure this gets done while giggling the whole time.)
Philippines: Day 3 — Our first Aktion Day
Today was a very special day for us … not only was it the first day of distribution but it was also a day which we distributed 350 bedkits were donated by Aktion Clubs across United States and Canada.
Stuart McCormick the President of the Kiwanis Club of Scarborough and Advisor to the Toronto Aktion Club. He has provided us some insight to this wonderful group and a special SCAW team member Anthony Ng:
Thanks to Stuart for this contribution!
2007 Philippines Traveling Team
Ken Graham (Team leader), Elaine McDougall, Anthony Ng, Sandra Dryden, Dave Dryden and Nancy Holt
Stuart McCormick the President of the Kiwanis Club of Scarborough and Advisor to the Toronto Aktion Club. He has provided us some insight to this wonderful group and a special SCAW team member Anthony Ng:
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| From Philippines Photo Album 3 |
The $24,000 CAD funds provided to SCAW for the bedkits were donated from participating Aktion Clubs in North America and the Kiwanis International Foundation. Aktion Club is a service club for adults living with a disability.
The first Aktion Club began in 1987 in Florida and has grown to over 250 clubs with 5000+ members worldwide. Their motto is Service In Aktion. The Aktion Club Service Initiative for SCAW began as a single club BBQ fundraiser by the Aktion Club of Toronto. From there it was adopted as the first Service Initiative with every Aktion Club invited to participate. The goal was to raise $10,000 USD with the Kiwanis International Foundation to match dollar for dollar. The campaign kicked off October 1, 2006 and the funds were raised in just 4 months. Visit our website for more details.
We are very proud of Anthony and his commitment to travel with SCAW and personally deliver bedkits. Anthony joined the Aktion Club of Toronto in 2004. In 2005 he was elected Vice President and in 2006 was elected as President. Anthony is a doer who enjoys helping others. He cares about the members of the Aktion Club and wants to serve his community. Anthony is an excellent role model for Aktion Club, Kiwanis and SCAW. Anthony enjoys food, people and volunteering.
Stuart R. McCormack PLG
Aktion Club Administrator
Eastern Canada & Caribbean
Kiwanis International
Thanks to Stuart for this contribution!
2007 Philippines Traveling Team
Ken Graham (Team leader), Elaine McDougall, Anthony Ng, Sandra Dryden, Dave Dryden and Nancy Holt
Philippines: Day 2 — Preparation Day
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If we only had one word to share with you about our day it would be “organization” — perhaps “hot” would have come in second?!?
The SCAW team was able to meet with the Kiwanis Club to discuss the upcoming and highly anticipated distribution. The overseas organizing committee has, one could perhaps say, gone the extra kilometre or perhaps ten. Each day, activity, and logistic detail has been well-planned and carefully documented.
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| From Philippines Photo Album 2 |
Our hosts also provided a tour of the bedkit warehouse today (where all 5000 bedkits were assembled and stored) and also allowed us the opportunity to observe the last few bedkits being packed. What a great experience for us!!! We were able to see the thought and care that was put into the packing process and also view the items for the first time.
Every company’s supply chain should be so efficient as our host’s operation. The packed bedkit was weighed, measured, and its total dimensions calculated to ensure appropriately sized transports were ordered for each site. (The concern was that if the truck were too small, the bedkit would be compromised.) Each truck has been scheduled for pickup and a superior system of checks and balances have been put in place to ensure the right number of bedkits will arrive at each site in a timely manner.
The entire team is very much looking forward to our first distribution day tomorrow. We promise to send you lots of wonderful pictures of these sweet children!
Stay Tuned!
2007 Philippines Traveling Team
Ken Graham (Team leader), Elaine McDougall, Anthony Ng, Sandra Dryden, Dave Dryden and Nancy Holt
Philippines: Photo Album 2
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| Philippine |
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Philippines: Day 1 — Welcome to Manila
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The traveling team has arrived safely in the Philippines. Members of the Kiwanis Club of Manila very warmly greeted the team at the airport and have escorted us to our accommodations. Dr. Torres and his team have really done an amazing job to ensure we are safe and comfortable.confirmation email
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The flights went very well and it took approximately 24 hours from takeoff in Toronto until arriving in Manila. The Philippines is exactly 12 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Savings Time, so Ken is quite excited that he did not even have to change his watch!!!! The team is a little jetlagged, but after a good night's sleep will be ready for their upcoming adventures.
We will meet with our overseas volunteers tomorrow for a pre-distribution meeting as well as a tour of the warehouse where the bedkit items are packed and stored. After such a long trip preparation and such long travel times, it is an exciting thought to be able to see the bedkits for the first time in just a couple of hours. Dave and Ken will have visions of blankets, clothes, and mats dancing in their heads instead of sugarplums tonight.
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| Click to view Photo Album Use "comments" link below to send a message to the team. |
SCAW 2007 Philippines Travelling Team: (Left to Right): Nancy Holt, Dave Dryden, Anthony Ng, Sandra Dryden, Ken Graham (Team Leader), Elaine McDougall
Philippines: Photo Album 1
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| Click to browse Photo Album Philippines, May 16 |
Date & Time in Philippines:
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Kenya Photo Album
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| Kenya Album 2007 |
The 2007 Kenya travelling team has now returned to Canada. Click on the Picasa album to see a small selection of photos they took during the distribution. Try out the slideshow feature to see all 72 photos in the album.
SCAW's next distributions are Philippines in May, Uganda in June, and Togo in June.
Stay tuned ...
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Kenya: Day 8 — Kariobangi
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This morning we went to the Kariobangi Primary School. This school became the distribution site for some sites around it. It was our last distribution. It became chaotic at times as the fence around it was poor and the parents were waiting there. A few children tried to sneak another bedkit but we soon realized what they were doing and it was because their parents were urging them on. We had a ‘time out’ and cleared the area. We gave out 491 bedkits today.confirmation email
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This school had groups that were centers for orphans and HIV/AIDS kids. We noticed that the size of the children was very small and we were told that even our Rotary Leader had seen their papers but since they suffer from the disease they are smaller in general.
Tonight we have a wrap up meeting with our overseas volunteer partners from the Rotary Club of Nairobi. These folks have once again made our job easier.
This ends the Kenya distribution for 2007 with 4,000 Kenyan children sleeping well tonight! We have received so many Thank You's on the donors' behalf and messages of blessings. It was an honour to be a part of this all.
Sue Orr
Team Kenya 2007
Kenya: Day 6 and 7 — Rural Kenya
Team Kenya had the great good fortune to spend the weekend in rural Kenya.
Our first stop was St. Mary’s Primary School in Machakos where we had our best distribution yet and distributed 500 bedkits. The school yard had cattle roaming on it, so we placed our setup right in front of the children who enthusiastically watched our every move. That also provided the added bonus of the children being able to see what was taking place and consequently being better prepared when their turn came.
After the distribution, a local Rotarian arranged a tour of a house where one of the students lived. It was a 10' x 10' mud hut with no running water, an outhouse for latrine facilities, and a mud floor. Inside were two small beds and a cooking facility. The girl lived there with a mother, father, and one sibling — the other two lived elsewhere.
The area has been stricken with drought so we saw many totally dry riverbeds. The countryside was vast, dotted with many trees. Cattle and other livestock seemed to be roaming free or were attended by herders, often children.
By the time we arrived at the Makindu Sikh Temple for our overnight stay we were halfway to Mombasa from Nairobi. This 80-year-old Sikh Temple is free to any travellers who are provided with food and lodging. After settling into our rooms, we were provided with a tour of the local town guided by a parent of one of the children. Among other activities, some of us joined a group of the children from a school who would be receiving bedkits in a game of volleyball. Sixty of the students lived there, some using the classrooms as dorms at night. After the tour, and with all of us in head scarves, we had the opportunity to sample Indian cuisine in the large dining facility at the Temple.
On Sunday morning, we set up at the Makindu Sikh Temple for a distribution of 500 bedkits to ten schools from the surrounding area within a 5-kilometer radius. Many students had walked and we noticed many had no shoes on. It was a very hot morning so we were happy the children were able to wait for their turn to be photographed on the grass in the cool shade of the Temple garden — a far cry from the dirt playgrounds of most of the schools.
Upon interviewing some of the parents, we discovered that they would like a bed to put the mattress on, a warmer blanket, and more exercise books and pens. They were very appreciative of the mosquito net! They felt it would help prevent diseases so the child would be healthier and wouldn’t miss so much school.
Since it was Sunday, we noticed this day was our most musical by far, with the children often singing and dancing while waiting and once even dancing into the photography setup.
It was a tired, but happy team who headed back to Nairobi for our final distribution tomorrow.
Veri Presswood
Team Kenya 2007
Our first stop was St. Mary’s Primary School in Machakos where we had our best distribution yet and distributed 500 bedkits. The school yard had cattle roaming on it, so we placed our setup right in front of the children who enthusiastically watched our every move. That also provided the added bonus of the children being able to see what was taking place and consequently being better prepared when their turn came.
After the distribution, a local Rotarian arranged a tour of a house where one of the students lived. It was a 10' x 10' mud hut with no running water, an outhouse for latrine facilities, and a mud floor. Inside were two small beds and a cooking facility. The girl lived there with a mother, father, and one sibling — the other two lived elsewhere.
The area has been stricken with drought so we saw many totally dry riverbeds. The countryside was vast, dotted with many trees. Cattle and other livestock seemed to be roaming free or were attended by herders, often children.
By the time we arrived at the Makindu Sikh Temple for our overnight stay we were halfway to Mombasa from Nairobi. This 80-year-old Sikh Temple is free to any travellers who are provided with food and lodging. After settling into our rooms, we were provided with a tour of the local town guided by a parent of one of the children. Among other activities, some of us joined a group of the children from a school who would be receiving bedkits in a game of volleyball. Sixty of the students lived there, some using the classrooms as dorms at night. After the tour, and with all of us in head scarves, we had the opportunity to sample Indian cuisine in the large dining facility at the Temple.
On Sunday morning, we set up at the Makindu Sikh Temple for a distribution of 500 bedkits to ten schools from the surrounding area within a 5-kilometer radius. Many students had walked and we noticed many had no shoes on. It was a very hot morning so we were happy the children were able to wait for their turn to be photographed on the grass in the cool shade of the Temple garden — a far cry from the dirt playgrounds of most of the schools.
Upon interviewing some of the parents, we discovered that they would like a bed to put the mattress on, a warmer blanket, and more exercise books and pens. They were very appreciative of the mosquito net! They felt it would help prevent diseases so the child would be healthier and wouldn’t miss so much school.
Since it was Sunday, we noticed this day was our most musical by far, with the children often singing and dancing while waiting and once even dancing into the photography setup.
It was a tired, but happy team who headed back to Nairobi for our final distribution tomorrow.
Veri Presswood
Team Kenya 2007
Kenya: Day 5 — Mathare, Nairobi
This morning saw us on the road to Mathare where children came from 18 different schools to receive 500 bedkits. Mathare is an old primary school with over 1400 students and only 25 teachers. We had lots of help from Rotaractors — young Rotarians. In this case most of them are in university and on holiday this week.
The distribution went off without a hitch.
However, picture taking location was a problem - school lessons were still going on while the students from the 18 schools came for the distribution. So the best location for sun and traffic control was a few yards away from the boys' latrine. The team (especially Veri) will long remember the children of Mathare and the stench of the latrine.
Tomorrow we head out from Nairobi into the rural area for two distributions and overnight. We return to Nairobi late Sunday so this will be our last live report for a few days.
Veri Presswood
Team Kenya 2007
The distribution went off without a hitch.
However, picture taking location was a problem - school lessons were still going on while the students from the 18 schools came for the distribution. So the best location for sun and traffic control was a few yards away from the boys' latrine. The team (especially Veri) will long remember the children of Mathare and the stench of the latrine.
Tomorrow we head out from Nairobi into the rural area for two distributions and overnight. We return to Nairobi late Sunday so this will be our last live report for a few days.
Veri Presswood
Team Kenya 2007
Kenya: Day 4 — Muslim & Catholic Schools
Date & Time in Kenya:
We left this morning at 7:30 am and arrived at the Dagoretti Muslim School. They were not yet ready for us and it took a little while for the teachers to understand what we needed of them: the kids in clothes and a secure site. It all worked out perfectly in the end though.It gave us time to look around. There was no running water at this school. The bathrooms had signs above them that said use toilet paper and not stones or glass. There were dead mice on the schoolyard and despite all of this the kids were very happy about things — even those kids that did not get a bedkit. The parents waited outside the yard and thanked us when we left.
We then went for lunch with the Rotary Club. It was the opposite of what we had just seen. We were treated royally at the Grande Regency Hotel. Unfortunately, we had to leave early because kids were waiting at the site of the afternoon distribution.
The other site was Kwetu Children's home. It is a school boarding system for boys that come off the street. As well, they had girls bussed in to receive bedkits from a neighbouring school. They showed us an area that had some bedkits from last year. This site was really organized well and the distribution went quickly. This area was close to Mukuru. The schoolyard had chickens and dogs running wild on it.
The team was a bit tired today, as some are not sleeping well at night. We went out for dinner tonight as guests of the Rotarians that are in charge of the sites. They were great company and gave us good insights on what to expect for the future.
Sue Orr
Team Kenya 2007
Kenya: Day 3 “Cheka!”
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This morning we went to the Mwamgaza Primary School in Kayole, Nairobi. They have 1,782 children from Grade 1 to Grade 8 with forty-two teachers.
The distribution went well again — with 500 bedkits going to kids that come out of Mathare, the second largest slum in Nairobi. Our system was set up in the courtyard and we used the ropes to keep control of the crowd. The full sun was on us for most of the time. The kids are used to being in the sun but we are not. This school has a secure fence system that kept some parents out during the distribution.
These bedkits really do go to the entire family and everyone gets excited about it!
The Rotary Club has provided many Rotaractors — young Rotary members between twenty and thirty years of age — that help during the distribution. They play an active part in assisting us to get the job done. They also help in translating the language.
The Parent Council showed us their appreciation afterwards. The chairman mentioned that many of the recipients are orphans and others are HIV-positive. We also noticed that they had many groups of special needs children there. These experiences are making us appreciate what we have at home.
Smile!! Cheka!!
Sue Orr
Team Kenya 2007
Kenya: Day 2 “Drive-In School”
We went to the Drive-In Primary School in Mathare today. This school is called the Drive-In School only because it is near the Drive-In. They have over 1500 students from Grade 1 to Grade 8.
They had 32 teachers in the school. The school was very efficient and well run. Maybe it was because they were all women teachers?! We asked the head mistress what she would like the most and her reply was a secure fence system. This way they could put in a permanent kitchen facility.
The distribution went very well and 500 bedkits are going to very deserving homes.
From the schoolyard we could see the apartment buildings that these kids come from. They are a 10 x 12 room where the entire family lives. This area is the second largest slum in Nairobi.
Sue Orr
Team Kenya 2007
They had 32 teachers in the school. The school was very efficient and well run. Maybe it was because they were all women teachers?! We asked the head mistress what she would like the most and her reply was a secure fence system. This way they could put in a permanent kitchen facility.
The distribution went very well and 500 bedkits are going to very deserving homes.
From the schoolyard we could see the apartment buildings that these kids come from. They are a 10 x 12 room where the entire family lives. This area is the second largest slum in Nairobi.
Sue Orr
Team Kenya 2007
Kenya: First Distribution of 2007
Hello,
We are sending this first live report after a day in Kibera, Kenya at the Jamia mosque. Kibera is said to be one of the largest slums in sub-saharan Africa and therefore the children are among the poorest in the continent. We distributed a total of 609 bedkits and the process went smoothly.
Yesterday morning we met with our Rotary partners and planned our distributions. Yesterday evening we attended a dinner at the home of Rotary Club President, Diamond Lalji and his wife. The gracious surroundings of last night were in sharp contrast to the destitution that we observed today in Kibera.
We were greeted this morning by many smiling, happy faces, despite waiting for hours. The children were in good spirits and happy to sing songs with us and watch Duncan's many magic tricks. Overall, a great day.
More to come,
Sarah Axelson,
for the SCAW 2007 Kenya Team
We are sending this first live report after a day in Kibera, Kenya at the Jamia mosque. Kibera is said to be one of the largest slums in sub-saharan Africa and therefore the children are among the poorest in the continent. We distributed a total of 609 bedkits and the process went smoothly.
Yesterday morning we met with our Rotary partners and planned our distributions. Yesterday evening we attended a dinner at the home of Rotary Club President, Diamond Lalji and his wife. The gracious surroundings of last night were in sharp contrast to the destitution that we observed today in Kibera.
We were greeted this morning by many smiling, happy faces, despite waiting for hours. The children were in good spirits and happy to sing songs with us and watch Duncan's many magic tricks. Overall, a great day.
More to come,
Sarah Axelson,
for the SCAW 2007 Kenya Team