Nicaragua: Nandismo

From Nicaragua 2009 Photo Album

Today was a big day for us as we had to deliver over 600 bedikits to 600 deserving children in 4 different schools. We arrived at the school at Nandismo to be greeted by an excited crowd of children, their parents, teachers, and the mayor.

Violetta, our Rotarian partner, had set up stations around the school very efficiently. It was a small school so we were not spread out far from each other. Movement and communication were easily accomplished. The volunteers were very well-trained and knew their roles.

Today I was a floater and trouble shooter so this role allowed me to see all phases of the operation. The process worked so well we were able to obtain our goal of 600 bedkit deliveries in a little over 3 1/2 hours.

The children were so happy and many parents expressed their thanks both verbally and by big hugs. The smiles and the hugs always seem to make the sweat and the tiredness very worthwhile.

Violetta invited us to her home in Nandismo for a beautiful lunch and social time. Then we drove a kilometre away to a very beautiful lagoon surrounded by mountains and several volcanos. One of them was blowing smoke. Something we don't see very often except in Nicaragua.

On the way home on the bus, the team decided to honour two of our Nicaraguan counterparts, Franz and Ameila, by inviting them to our little club. A humourous induction took place and they graciously accepted our invitation. We soon arrived home tired but happy.

Hot showers were earned by everyone, after all it was another rewarding day for all concerned!

Jack Diverty
for Team Nicaragua

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Nicaragua: San José de Los Remates

From Nicaragua 2009 Photo Album

Yesterday was very tiring but extremely rewarding. After an amazing two-hour journey through the beautiful Nicaraguan mountains, we arrived at the old Spanish town of San José de Los Remates. What an unexpected oasis: interlocking brick streets, colourful tiled entrances, verandas ornamented with intricate grill work, freshly painted homes, and lush gardens. It was obvious they had prepared their town for visitors.

We were greeted by Eryn, a Peace Corp worker from the States, who was extremely helpful with translations and dealings with the town folk. The mayor herself had prepared the volunteers well, making our delivery smooth. Unfortunately, one of the buses delivering the children had a minor collision and the distribution was delayed for quite some time while we waited for those children to arrive. We delivered 500 kits to children from 13 schools.

Entertainment by several little tots, who had just returned from winning a folk dance championship was really special and throughout the day the children were led in pinata games. It was an extremely energizing experience. At the end of the distribution we were each given woven baskets of oranges and lots of hugs.

Great fun!

Jacquie Diverty
for Team Nicaragua

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Nicaragua: Another successful day

Today, November 2^nd, our destination was Dario-Matagalpa, 70 kilometres north of Managua to distribute 429 Bedkits to their children.

From Nicaragua 2009 Photo Album

The Managua team of young Rotarac volunteers and Mr. Williams promptly arrived as scheduled. We passed through mountains and lush fields in different shades of green. The rains that fell in the last few nights brought this amazingly picturesques scenery. We arrived at the distribution site where all the children, their moms, grandmoms, teachers, and volunteers waited for us eagerly.

Ted selected the best photo site. We were so lucky today because the sun was bright and there was an open area where the route for the children was short and directly led them to the homeroom where the bedkits were kept.

My job today was to prepare the children for the photo shoot. Suzanne pulled the labels while she and I made the children sit properly and made sure their blue and white uniform from the bedkit was properly tucked in. We made them feel good and happy by blowing bubbles, tickling them with our puppets Santa and Lion, and sometimes spraying them with cool water. These brought out giggles that were hard to stop from some kids. Consequently, I feel that these kids gave us their most beautiful smiles.

From Nicaragua 2009 Photo Album

We all agreed these children, including the ones from our previous distributions in the last six days, were mostly cheerful and very charming. They had been allowed to attend classes in whatever clothing they had before because they were so poor that only very few of them could afford the regulation white and blue uniform and black shoes. I believe that the wonderful new white and blue uniforms provided by SCAW contributed to a new feeling of self-confidence for all of these children.

The distribution was completed in no time and we got back early enough to give us time to catch up on our sleep after the long ride home last night from Yalaguina which was 220 kilometres away.

Another successful day for the Nicaragua Team!

Linda Taiabjee
for Team Nicaragua

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Nicaragua: Yaliguina

From Nicaragua 2009 Photo Album

We travelled to the community Yaliguina which is located close to the Honduras border. We were out the door at 6 AM and drove for three and a half hours to get there. Some of the children told me they were at the school waiting for us at 7 AM.

The Rotary and Rotaract volunteers have been travelling with us on a bus to each distribution and with so much time on the bus together today, we had a great opportunity to get to know each other better.

This was definitely a poor community with very grateful children who received bedkits. As I was seating one of the children for the picture, she grabbed my hands and with a wonderfully bright smile said "Thank you for the package!"

So much excitement and gratitude for this small gift! We again were offered clear proof of how important all of this work is!

We arrived home at 10 PM after a very long and fulfilling day!

Suzanne Dobinson
for Team Nicaragua

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Nicaragua: Sabanagrande

From Nicaragua 2009 Photo Album

At 8 AM this morning our air-conditioned bus pulled into the gated school yard in Sabanagrande. Prior to the first photo being taken at 9:10 AM, the children and our team were musically entertained by a local adult band and dancers in blue and white traditional dress.

Our team switches responsibilities daily. Today it was my turn to record the number of children receiving a bedkit after their label/photo was taken: 50 groups of 3, 10 groups of 4, 2 groups of 5, then individuals ... total 504.

From distribution day to today we have passed an honourary rock (Keeper of the Count) to the master of this position to ensure daily accuracy. Oh ... the rock also acts as a paper-weight in case the kids accidently bump the table or a welcomed breeze pops up. My count was off briefly when a child excitedly passed my spot and was brought back from around the corner with label in hand.

As you can see, our team is having fun!

Linda Lesage
for Team Nicaragua

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Nicaragua: Day Three

Today, I had both the privilege and pleasure of handing out the bedkits.

From Nicaragua 2009 Photo Album

This is what I came for and the children did not let me down.

The team and volunteers handed out 375 bedkits to 375 lovable children, and I had the distinct honour of hugging each and every child. It felt as if my very own grandchildren were hugging me back. What a feeling! Such love and thanks.

The men carrying the bedkits for the children worked very hard as they had to walk around the building. It was a hot day and the humidity was high. Sweat flowed and they took very few breaks. They too should be recognized for their service.

An especially poignant moment occurred midway through the distribution: an older gentlemen, I estimate in his 60's, was working as one of the "porters." He stood out for me because he was with a group of younger men. When he returned to pick up his next load and child, he turned around to see his own grandson. They embraced and after the obligatory picture they went on their way. Grandpa with the bedkit balanced on his shoulder and his other arm around his grandson. It was an unplanned moment that happened strictly by chance. It was special for grandpa, grandson and me, another grandpa, who just happened to be there.

What a moment!

Jack Diverty
for Team Nicaragua

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Nicaragua: Day two at Mateare

Today was our second day at Mateare.

From Nicaragua 2009 Photo Album

Being a familiar setting, we were able to process 375 bedkits without incident. Great job by the team! The school staff and volunteers were ready and experienced which was very helpful.

My job today was to be the floater to assist where needed and to complete three parent surveys. What an emotional roller coaster! The first survey went as expected but the last two were difficult. The poverty is unbelievable and unbearable at times. This was a difficult assignment but oh so rewarding in many ways. The responses to the questions showed a great need. Both of these mothers were incredibly grateful for our help and praised God and SCAW for their support. In each case, some of the bedkit items were articles that were recently requested by the school and the parents had no money to respond. So they were so appreciative of our donor's generosity.

The mayor and the principal of the school were extremely grateful of our support and to show their appreciation provided lunch for us at a local restaurant.

A great second day!

Jacquie Diverty
for Team Nicaragua

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Nicaragua: Mateare

From Nicaragua 2009 Photo Album

The distribution went well until we had more children than labels. However, we met the challenge!

Ted had brought extra labels for tomorrow, which is also in Mateare. It was amazing. We thought that he might have been guided somehow, and right away, we thought of Murray Dryden telling his subconscious that we will need these labels.

Murray is making sure all challenges are met to make the children happy. The children were changed and lined-up and we did not have the heart to tell them to return tomorrow.

So, all is well that ends well.

Being the first day, we felt exhausted but happy. Tomorrow will be another day and we are looking forward to it.

Linda Taiabjee
for Team Nicaragua

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Bangladesh 2009 Slideshow

Bangladesh Lions: Final distribution

From Bangladesh 2009 Photo Album

Today marked our final distribution – 4,000 bedkits in five days!

After our daily “commute” of several hours out into the boonies we arrived at a small rural school. Because the grounds were so confined, our whole day was supervised by the entire village population. People here are incredibly friendly and most curious about strangers.

The distribution went very smoothly and we had ample time to play with the children: they love singing … and Frisbee. Sue is a kid-magnet and was constantly surrounded by cheerful little bodies. And speaking of little bodies …. the bedkits in Bangladesh contain a second set of clothing and so they are sized “2”, “3,” and “4” with four being the smallest size ... By far the greatest number of bags were fours. So many of the children are frail as little birds.

We even had time to visit the village home of a little girl who received a bedkit today. Her family of four adults and three children all share a two-room cinder-block and corrugated-metal home about 12x15 feet. Cooking is done in a bamboo and tarpaulin enclosure outside. The adults have thin mattresses on a wooden frame while children sleep on the cement floor. The little girl should be able to sleep better tonight – we know we will.

But first it’s out for dinner at the home of our gracious hosts.

The Lions Bangladesh Team
— tired but very content.

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Bangladesh Rotary: Barisal Day 7 & Finished

This blog is from my Blackberry since we will be late tonight before back. Pictures to follow when back.

From Bangladesh 2009 Photo Album

We are done!

• Fun is: a final distribution in a village with interaction with parents and community,
• Fun is: lunch prepared and served in the village,
• Fun is: visiting different homes in this impoverished village,
• Fun is: seeing the smiles as the kids received their bedkit,
• Fun is: holding a seven month baby from the village,
• Fun is: eating with our hands. Fun is: five types of fish for lunch,
• Fun is: watching the kids roll a 'chaka' (stiffened old bicycle tire) around the village,
• Fun is: fresh coconut water during the distribution,
• Fun is: blowing bubbles with the kids,
• Fun is: the 'street tea' break on the four trip to the distribution site,
• Fun is: visiting a gypsy encampment at tea break,
• Fun is: a great team of SCAW and Rotary volunteers,
• Fun is: 5000 happy kids.,

Joan, Susan, Eileen, John and Doug
from the Rotary Bangladesh Team.

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Nicaragua: Managua

From Nicaragua 2009 Photo Album

We made it safely to Managua. After getting to our home host, having a team meeting and getting settled in our rooms, as with
most SCAW teams, we were more than ready for bed!

It was wonderful to be invited to the Rotary Club meeting on our first day so that we could meet the group of people who have taken so much of their energy to organize each day of the distribution. What a fabulous group of dedicated volunteers!

One of the volunteers. Grecko, made sure we didn't have too much down time as he brought over a couple of bedkits for us to work with in organizing our days to come.

Staying at Franz and Martha's B&B comes with great priviledges as Franz drove us to the local market so we could buy groceries to make our own dinners. We are all set for work and food for the next few days!

Stay tuned for tomorrow!

Team Nicaragua

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Bangladesh Rotary: Jessore

Our day started at 6:15 AM in the city of Jessore with Namaz the calling from the Mosque (Zam Azan).

From Bangladesh 2009 Photo Album

One of our Rotary partners invited a group of us to experience a true Bangladesh breakfast -- his favourite when in Jessore. We walked down narrow uninhabited streets that early in the morniing to reach this inviting restaurant.

Upon entering the retaurant, which had a capacity of ten, we were greeted openly and offered Luchi and Dahl. After breakfast we had sondesh (sweets): one made with cooked condensed milk (malai) and the other made with date juice. We couldn't believe that no sugar had been added to make either of these desserts.

Doug was able to get some true pictures of how our breakfast was being prepared. After breakfast, we walked down another street to have our "Street Tea" made with cow's milk and raw tea. The total cost for our breakfast for the ten of us, including the tea, was $6.50. What a true fun Bangladesh experience!

From Bangladesh 2009 Photo Album

Our distribution began hours later, with 604 bedkits being distributed to very needy children from the outlying countryside of Jessore. This was the first time that a SCAW Bangladesh team had travelled to outlying areas for a total of three days with two overnights to reach first time distribution sites. It has been an exhausting but well worth it experience and we have certainly recognized a true need for these areas to be reached.

Our fun times continue to be with the children and parents.

From Bangladesh 2009 Photo Album

Our bubble experience reached its peak today with some outstanding photos. Visting Jessore has been a back-in-time experience for all of us. We witnessed virtually no automobiles on the roads. All transportation is either by foot, rickshaw, bicycle, scooter, motocycle, or ricksvan. Early morning traffic is busy and by the evening rush hour it is total traffic congestion.

We are all looking forward to to the last leg of our distribution at Barisal. A four-hour road trip to reach our distribution site with 599 bedkits and then another seven hours by water and road to make it back to Dhaka, our home base.

Mike Foster
for Rotary Team Bangladesh

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Bangladesh Lions: Day 4, Shibpur

Our distribution today was two hours east of Dhaka in a small rural village of Shibpur.

It was in a large school yard. Excitement was everywhere: lots of kids, lots of people, lots of chatter as we arrived and set up. All the children left with big smiles and a bedkit on their heads. Some of them were heading into the jungle.

Fun of the day included Sue racing a five-year-old boy across the yard and Richard playing Frisbee.

More fun of the day: at supper Sue opened up her cheeseburger to find cheese and no meat -– it was Literally a cheese burger.

The Lions Bangladesh Team

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Nicaragua: The team has arrived

From Nicaragua 2009 Photo Album

SCAW Team Nicaragua has arrived safely in Managua. Everyone is feeling fine and looking forward to meeting the Club de Rotario Managua team tomorrow morning, and having our pre-distribution meeting.

We will file a report tomorrow on our meeting and plans for the upcoming distrbutions.

Talk with everyone soon.

Team Nicaragua

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Nicaragua: Leave your comments here

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Bangladesh Lions: Third distribution, Belabo

After a day off and our rickshaw adventure, the Lions Team set out for their third distribution.

From Bangladesh 2009 Photo Album

The drive to Belabo was slightly more then two hours with one photo op when we had to wait for the other van to catch up.

We passed through the usual village market places but also saw more signs of manufacturing, e.g., teak furniture, and newer factories: one spinning, one weaving, and one knitting all side by side.

When we entered the school area which was our bedkit distribution site we were greeted by clapping and cheering by all the children and parents. We quickly set up and got underway. The children as usual were extremely patient and well behaved. A lot of interaction with the ball being volleyed back and forth while the kids were lined up waiting for their photo. The children who attended the school also provided entertainment with their marching drills. The bubbles continued to delight the kids and helped them to relax.

From Bangladesh 2009 Photo Album

The distribution went off without a hitch and afterwards we strolled through the fields and saw an olive tree, banana tree and saw up close how their winter crops were grown. The children wanted to practise their English phrases so we had a great time chatting with them.

Another 800 kids went home very happy tonight and we have two more distributions to go!

The Bangladesh Lions Team

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Bangladesh Rotary: Western Bangladesh

This was the first day of the new SCAW Rotary team's three-day western Bangladesh loop.

Our 660 bedkit distribution today was in the rural area of the Padma region and this area and south is the bread basket of the country. There are rice fields, sugar cane, vegetable gardening, orchards and banana plantations everywhere.

Today we saw a new vehicle called a nasimeon which is a modified rickshaw van with a diesel engine and was the all-purpose vehicle in this region hauling almost anything you can imagine including bedkits, kids, and parents home today (Picture to follow but no internet access in Jessore).

Fun was the new faces of Bangladesh -- today and every day (More pictures coming). Fun is the fun this team is having with the kids and the Bangladesh experience.

Fun is heading from our hotel in Jessore to the Rotary Hospital in a convoy of rickshaws and with the great majority of traffic in this city powered by legs it was eerily quiet riding through dark streets. The hospital is a charity project owned and run by the Rotary Club of Jessore and was not fun. We were able to tour it tonight and it was clear they try hard but have little money or equipment so the message tonight was: if you are poor don't get sick. Any help including some medical supplies our team brought is very much needed.

Tomorrow is the big day for me doing a distribution in Jessore, the same city my Dad was stationed at in WWII and a tour to follow including the airstrip he flew out of.

Doug MacDougald
for Rotary Team Bangladesh

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Bangladesh Rotary: Day 4, Uttara

Having Fun in Bangladesh:

From Bangladesh 2009 Photo Album

• Fun is: a civilized start sleeping in until 6:30.
• Fun is: trying literally dozens of new foods, some very hot.
• Fun is: today, during line ups, teaching the kids to do high five's. Most really got into it.
• Fun is: getting to know our Rotary and Rotaract (youth) volunteers.
• Fun is: a visit to the Sea Breeze International School which is affiliated with Cambridge University. We toured and visited several classes. This school is run by Samiah Zaman wife of Khaliq, the current Rotary president, who has spent countless hours working on this distribution.
• Fun is: today's distribution outside in a clean courtyard under three huge locust trees.
• Fun is: having 70 pre-schoolers at Seabreeze sing Jingle Bells (all verses). Real big fun!
• Fun is: for me, the personal contact with every child: playing a silly game, giving a reassuring hug, or just walking five steps hand in hand.
• Fun is: discussion with the Rotary president Khaliq, who hopes to find a way to to get kids from the nomadic hill tribes to receive a SCAW bedkit.
• Fun is: thinking about sharing this experience with groups back home.
• Fun is: trying to remember the most precious smile I've seen so far -- totally impossible -- but great fun trying.
• Fun is: anticipating the next three days as we travel 800 km through the rural areas and back.

John Cockburn
for Rotary Team Bangladesh

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Bangladesh Lions & Rotary: Rickshaw adventure

Sunday night became for both teams the Adventures of Doug and Mike.

From Bangladesh 2009 Photo Album

Doug had arranged for six rickshaws to pick us up at the hotel and take us to a restaurant. The ride down made us feel like we were the local entertainment. Rickshaws are built for two but not really for two Canadian butts.

We ended up on the second floor of the restaurant and left the ordering of food to Doug. We had rice, nam, lobster, prawns, chicken, mutton, and lime/onion salad. Doug was disappointed as they were out of goat brains. This restaurant was very popular and reminded us of Swiss Chalet back home.

Doug took some photos of us and then taught the waiter to take photos of the group. We were quite a spectacle. When it was all over and done with the meal cost us $ 40 for twelve of us.

To get home again we went by rickshaw again … word must have got out that we were there as they restaurant was surrounded by rickshaws. The cost of the ride was 120 TAKA. That works out to be about $ 1.50 for all twelve of us.

Team Rotary left at 5:30 AM this morning and is staying overnight out in the countryside.

Team Lions is off to Belabo today.

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