Bangladesh: Our first distribution
After months of waiting for our first distribution assignment, here we are – standing in Bangladesh waiting for the first bus of children to arrive.
The first bus pulls up shortly after 8 am, followed by another ten minutes later, then another, then another. Within the hour a sea of children filled the distribution courtyard.
Some travelled as far as 150 km, and many arrived without so much as shoes on their feet. A small grin creeps across our faces as we know that when the kids open their bedkit they’ll find a pair of brand new flip flops.
As wave after wave of children come and go from the courtyard it becomes apparent to us how much time and effort was put forth by the Rotary Club of Dhaka to arrange and organize today’s distribution. Hats off to their team.
First stop – changing into their new donated outfits. The girls appear from the change room in beautiful and colourful salwar kameezes. The boys have new pants and a warm shirt for the approaching winter months.
Next stop – picture time. The children are set up. Some sit, some stand. “Everyone smile.”
And now, for the best part – the bedkit. We share a word or two with each child ... whatever we can communicate in the two different languages. Some hesitate as they take the big bundle. Some of the smallest kids quickly and easily hoist the heavy bed kits up onto their heads and head for the gate with a huge smile across their face.
As they leave we are overwhelmed with the pride and emotion of being part of such a great experience.
After the last child gets on the last bus, the joint SCAW/Rotary Club of Dhaka Team celebrates a successful Day One over a meal.
Good Night from Bangladesh,
SCAW Newbie #1: Steve Allen
SCAW Newbie #2: Danielle Lalonde
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Bangladesh: Getting ready in Dhaka
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
We spent the day acclimatizing, meeting the Rotary club group for the pre-distribution meeting, visiting the warehouse where the bedkits are stored, and getting ready to rock 'n roll tomorrow for a test by fire with 1,114 kids receiving bedkits. This is way over what we will normally do but stay tuned on our various travels to the outlying areas of Bangladesh and it will become clear why we are packing a bunch in early.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
We also strolled the streets seeing the unusual sights of Dhaka life including a market with the boys pretty excited about selling their vegetables and a guy quite happy about his prowess with fish.
Doug MacDougald
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Bangladesh: Preparations
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
464 bedkits are being moved from the storage warehouse into the awaiting truck bound for Cox's Bazar. Over the next couple of days all bedkits will have been shipped and reached their final destination in preparation for the arrival of the Bangladesh 2010 team from Canada.
Mike Foster
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Bangladesh: Team is collecting
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
We have a great itinerary planned and it will take us to the four corners of the country with 6,000 bedkits distributed to 6,000 of the poorest kids in some areas Sleeping Children have never travelled to.
We will travel by most available conveyances: overnight steamer ferry, river paddleboat, bus, train, car, plane and rickshaw! – these are the ones we know!
The team is excited and challenged, but able, and thanks everyone involved in Sleeping Children Around the World for “helping the world, one child at a time.”
Stay tuned to our blog.
Doug MacDougald
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Read about the trip in the Stratford Beacon Herald.
Bangladesh: Volunteers prepare
Shown at the front door is the Canadian team: (Left to right): Steve Allen, Kathy Greiner, Doug MacDougald (Team Leader), Mike Foster, Danielle Lalonde, and Andy Greiner.
They are (Left to right): Bayezid, Khaliq, Ranjan, Masud, Faruk, Apu, and Rowly.
Watch this space for more reports as the teams get together in two weeks.
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Bangladesh: Leave your comments here
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Tanzania: Trip Reports Posted
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| Tanzania 2010 Photos |
If you would like to read the reports on the web, you can read them in their entirety here.
Here is a download link for the PDF version of the newsletter.
Honduras: Distribution complete
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| From Honduras 2010 Photos |
The constant torrential rains have decimated the hillsides, flooded homes, and made some roads impassable. Crops have been destroyed. One cannot fully describe the conditions in which these poor children live. Mother Nature has added considerable more hardship to their families.
We leave with some hope that our gifts of bedkits will alleviate some of the suffering. We have not been able to touch all of the children in need, but we do know that many of them know that someone in Canada loves them.
Irene Harrison
For Team Honduras 2010
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Honduras: Rain and Hurricane Matthew
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| From Honduras 2010 Photos |
But today we had lots of help from not only Rotary Club members and their families and friends, but also from about a dozen dentistry students. They looked sharp and brightened the distribution, threatened with dark clouds and rain, in their white lab coats.
Only one more day left, but a hurricane is expected at midnight.
Stay tuned.
Rae Waring
For Team Honduras 2010
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Honduras: House visit
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| From Honduras 2010 Photos |
Today our team, along with some Rotarians, went to visit some of the houses of the children receiving the bedkits. When we first showed up to the area being visited we saw what looked like a respectable brick home. After this sight, I thought, "This won't be that bad."
We all got out of our vehicles and were told that the house we were visiting was in from the road and not the brick one. As we walked along the barbed-wire fence I noticed that my smiles were being returned in a different way than in the city. As we entered the dirt-floored houses, not only were they very small (12 x 16), but they also had a brutal angle with a stream of water going through the middle. No plumbing and one ceiling light.
The families, mostly female, were happy with the love they have for each other as they do not have a choice with their surroundings. It's very gratifying to know that the bedkits distributed are being put to good use in these distressing conditions.
Greg Hotchkiss
For Team Honduras 2010
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Honduras: Difficult times
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| From Honduras 2010 Photos |
But the hand of fate has been very gentle and kind to us and carried us through all our distributions successfully. We manage to finish our work just as the rains begin and both children and volunteers are spared a total drenching. Finding a spot to take pictures has sometimes been troublesome as the grounds are wet and walking is hampered by sinking ground beneath our feet.
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| From Honduras 2010 Photos |
Mothers seem to deem the mosquito net and blanket as particularly important; the children, also recognize the value of these items, but sometimes express great delight to have a pillow - a real treat.
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| From Honduras 2010 Photos |
to work with children, allay their anxieties and bring assurance particularly to those who are disabled, blind, or upset. Without him, our work would be much more difficult.
On the way home from the last distribution, we heard a song whose lyrics repeated the phrase "we belong here." The presence of SCAW and its commitment to help the children of Honduras is particularly important at a time when the poor have lost their crops, sometimes their homes, due to the heavy rains.
And, indeed, we do belong here.
Irene Harrison
For Team Honduras 2010
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Honduras: Making a difference
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| From Honduras 2010 Photos |
In Tegucigalpa 70% of the population live below the poverty level. The typical home in this area is made of any combination of available materials such as wood, aluminum, stone, and plaster. Most frightening is that the houses are built on the side of very steep hills where heavy rains during the six-month-long rainy season pose a constant danger.
The children were brought to the school in military buses and trucks. Military security was obvious to everyone outside and inside the school. I spent an hour or so interviewing three mothers and a grandmother of children receiving the bedkits. From their perspective the most important items in the kit were the mosquito net and the mattress. Only one of the families had a mosquito net in their house and it was used exclusively for a baby.
It was very humbling talking to these folks and I began to understand how SCAW is making a difference in the lives of these families.
Jim Gibson
For Team Honduras 2010
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Honduras: First time distribution
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| From Honduras 2010 Photos |
The Rotary Club here has been great to work with. On Friday we had a special opportunity to attend a meeting they arranged with The First Lady of Honduras at the Presidential Palace. Through her translator she expressed great appreciation for all that SCAW has done to help the children of Honduras. Their was a lengthy discussion on the desperate need for mosquito nets and the issue of Dengue fever which has killed 69 people so far and made numerous others very ill. As there isn't a vaccination yet to prevent this, the nets are essential. Every bedkit we're handing out includes a treated mosquito net so this trip alone will result in over 5000 children being protected.
It's very rewarding being part of making such a difference in a child's life and seeing Murray Dryden's dream continue. Seeing it all first hand makes me have an even deeper respect for this amazing charity! Can't wait to see the kids again and give out more bedkits!
Susan Hicks
For Team Honduras 2010
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Honduras: Our first distribution
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| From Honduras Photos |
We finished our first day of distribution quite early. We were situated in the central court of a School for the Blind in mid-town Tegucigalpa. The students were on holiday for a week and home visiting their families. Thus the school was empty but for the children bussed to the distribution from neighbouring barrios.
We photographed 523 gorgeous kids and enjoyed every minute.
My memory for the day was the interaction of the soldiers who will be present at each distribution with the little children. There they were with their camouflage jumpsuits and strapped on holster guns -- but they had the kindest faces and gentlest ways as they helped the little ones carry their bedkits to the busses. I will remember this contrast and this love.
Tomorrow we are back to work for Day 2.
Marilyn Waring,
For Team Honduras 2010
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Honduras: The team has arrived
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| From Honduras Photos |
Tomorrow a more sombre day awaits us as we see the reality of poverty in Honduras. But it will be an equally joyous day when we witness the beautiful smiles of hundreds of children receiving bedkits. For the children of Honduras, thank you friends and donors for making it a very special day for so many.
Irene Harrison,
For SCAW Team Honduras 2010
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Honduras: Post your comments here
As a courtesy, please include your name at the end of your comment or click on Select profile ... and fill in your name by selecting Name/URL. You don't have to fill in the URL but if you like you can put "www.scaw.org" there.
Zimbabwe trip reports posted
The donor newsletter for the Zimbabwe bedkit distribution has gone to print and can be downloaded from the Sleeping Children Website.
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| Zimbabwe 2010 Photo Album |
If you would like to read the reports on the web, you can read them in their entirety here.
Here is a download link for the PDF version of the newsletter.
Tanzania: Mission Accomplished
We "held up" 7,000 needy little ones with the support of our donors and the SCAW and the Tanzanian volunteers."I am nothing without someone else. If he slips and stumbles I will stumble with him, if I cannot hold him up."
From Tanzania 2010 Photos — Ritual chant of Mali
A bitter sweet day .... no more 4:30 a.m. wake up calls, but no more dark inquiring eyes and beautiful smiles!
Kwa heri (goodbye), Tanzania.
Team Tanzania 2010
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Tanzania: Sunday, day of rest and surprises
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| From Tanzania 2010 Photos |
And by heavens, it all falls into place!
You already know that 100% of the funds wired goes towards the bedkits. It is the responsibility of our Overseas Volunteers to cover all other incurred costs like transportation and storage of the bedkits.
With support from her church and friends in Tanzania and Canada, Mama Wandoa covers the costs of travelling the long distances to inspect the distribution sites, transport the bedkits, stipends and meals for the volunteers who so ardently package the bedkit items and load the trucks, and myriads of other expenses.
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| From Tanzania 2010 Photos |
One of the highlights of a Tanzanian distribution is attending a Sunday Service with Mama Wandoa, who is a respected Elder and Teacher. We are introduced to the the congregation and SCAW's mission is explained. We are asked to say a few words. We understand very little of the liturgy which is in Swahili but enjoy picking out the few words we have learned. Mama conscripts translators from the congregation to sit beside us and translate and guide us through the readings and responses. Because Swahili is phonetically similar to English, we are able to sing along with the kwayas (choirs).
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| From Tanzania 2010 Photos |
Then the surprise ... there is a special In Memorial offering for the AIDS orphans supported by the church in memory of Ken Webb (Linda's husband, Christopher's father) and Linda and Christopher, surrounded by the orphans and the SCAW team, are called to the front of the altar to receive a blessing from the Bishop.
The tears flow ... but they are joyful tears!
Team Tanzania 2010
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Tanzania: Ibariki Africa
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| From Tanzania 2010 Photos |
When both the SCAW team and the school children are ready to begin their day, there is usually time for a small break so that we can attend the school's morning assembly. We are welcomed with many smiles and "Good morning" and we are always greeted by the sound of drums and singing voices.
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| Click to watch the video. |
We were given a translation of the words by a teacher, and thought we would share them with you with some of the swahili words to help you follow.
Click on the thumbnail to go to the video.:
God Bless Africa.
Bless its leaders.
Let Wisdom Unity and
Peace be the shield of
Africa and its people.
Ibariki Africa (Bless Africa),
Ibariki Africa (Bless Africa),
Tubariki watoto wa Africa (Bless Africa and its Children).
God Bless Tanzania.
Grant eternal Freedom and Unity
To its sons and daughters.
God Bless Tanzania and its People.
Ibariki Tanzania (Bless Tanzania),
Ibariki Tanzania (Bless Tanzania),
Tubariki watoto wa Tanzania (Bless Tanzania and its Children).
Team Tanzania 2010
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