Nicaragua: Yalaguina
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Day 5
Wake call at 4:45 a.m.; room service breakfast at 5:15 a.m. (The restaurant doesn't open until 6:00 a.m.); and the day has begun for the SCAW team. At 6:00 a.m. we head out for Yalaguina, a small town four-and-a-half hours away through beautiful mountainous countryside.Strange unique sites meet us all along the way: signs indicating armadillo or iguana crossings; a young lad on a bike pedalling down the road with a cow's head on each handle bar; a small gravel runway alongside the busy road with several very small planes on it; rice paddies and cement pads covered with drying coffee beans, the scent of which fills the cool fresh mountain air.
All of this and more fills our senses as we travel along. At Yalaguina the children are lined up and waiting. They sing their national anthem and then we are treated to a set of lovely traditional dances. Due to the lack of space and the ever glaring sun we set up the photographing site against the school wall and the fun begins.
The excitement was obvious by the expressions on their faces, as they saw the bedkit laid out. We danced with the children in the line-up to the background music - that of Nicaragua, a polka and the Pink Panther theme.
Their photos were then taken and off they skipped to get their bedkits. By 4:00 p.m. 625 weary but excited children, six weary but delighted Canadians and two dozen weary but ecstatic Nicaraguan volunteers wended their way homeward from Yalaguina, all to have a good night's sleep.
Thank you and good night from Nicaragua.
Joan Hryniw
for Team Nicaragua 2010
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Bangladesh: Cox's Bazar
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
Back in Dhaka
We are done: 6,000 bedkits handed out to 6,000 kids, travelling 3,600 km all over Bangladesh to touch every one of these children.This last distribution in Cox’s Bazar was bittersweet. We are one tired team and glad it is successfully over but I with some of my teammates shed a tear when the last photo was taken and the last bedkit handed out – because it was over.
No more intense camaraderie as we caromed through every day on a bedkit mission; no more big, happy, noisy distribution crowds; and no more little private moments between you and one of the kids that sometimes made you feel like your heart would burst with happiness and then other times with sadness.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
Doug MacDougald
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Nicaragua: Our fourth distribution
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| From Nicaragua 2010 |
We managed to get through the entire distribution without a repeat of yesterday's downpour.
At the end of the distribution we had lunch with the mayor and some of his staff and heard more about their lives in their town. Tomorrow we'll be on the road at 6 am for a 3-hour drive to Yalaguina and 625 excited children.
Judy Dryden
for Team Nicaragua 2010
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Bangladesh: Chittagong Distribution
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
Day 9
Wow, it’s hard to believe that at 5:30 am we were on the bus again on our way to our second last site. Chittagong is another new site for a SCAW distribution and today we handed out bedkits to 319 children. This site is the home village of one of the Rotaractors that has been travelling with us since our arrival. Not only is it Didar’s hometown, this is his first sponsorship – and as a result twenty children got bedkits in today’s distribution.We have seen almost 6,000 children over the past 10 days – but today’s kids were more special than those we have seen so far. Today we had blind children, deaf children, and mentally challenged children.
One little fellow came in a ‘wheelchair’... not like the wheelchairs that we westerners are used to seeing. This was literally a leather chair with little two-inch wheels under the four corners, handles for pushing, and a makeshift table top. As I watched his dad maneuver the wheelchair I couldn’t help but think about how difficult it must be to push it all over the uneven, unpaved roads and walkways. Unlike western wheelchairs with the big wheels that the passenger can use to move themself, this type of chair will prevent this little guy from ever doing that. We introduced him to “quacker,” our duck hand puppet, and once he got over his nervousness about exactly what it was he kept closing the beak to make it ‘quack.’ If you could have seen the grin on his face.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
While the teachers, parents, and caregivers kept thanking us for coming to Bangladesh and running the SCAW program, their efforts to bring those beautiful children from far away villages for us to meet them today makes us all realize - they are the real heroes.
After such a humbling day we called it a wrap and settled back into the bus. Reflecting upon the day – and our blessings. We watched the sun set over a beautiful and green hillside on our way to our last location for this trip ... Cox’s Bazar.
Danielle Lalonde
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Nicaragua: Our third distribution
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| From Nicaragua 2010 |
We arrived in a hidden mountain village situated between numerous peaks. The people were very friendly and helpful throughout the distribution. The mayor was a wonderful young woman who worked with us all day to make sure the distribution flowed smoothly. The first set of group photos were of special needs children, who arrived in larger numbers than were expected, but nevertheless, we were happy to give them a bedkit to assist them with their difficult lives.
The photo shoot started outdoors but had to be shifted three times due to sun alterations. Eventually the sky clouded over and the spin-off of a hurricane dropped down on us forcing us to shoot the last 150 pictures under a small gazebo.
Soaking wet, with grins ear-to-ear, we loaded up our equipment and headed back through the now-flooded mountain road. I doubt we would've made it back if not for our outstanding driver, Roberto. We finished the evening with dinner at Mcdonalds with our driver, but somehow the burgers weren't as satisfying as the children's smiles.
Garrick Byers
for Team Nicaragua 2010
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Bangladesh: Feni distribution
Day 8
What an amazing but tiring day! Sorry for the delay in getting the blog and photos to you as we had to stop and take a breath or two. Our day started at 4 am as we prepared to leave the beautiful tea plantation District of Sylhat for a 5 am departure.Today’s distribution is in Feni, approximately 240 kilometers and an estimated travel time of 4 to 5 hours. Pot-holed and congested roads took us 7 ½ hours to reach our distribution site. We all felt that our day was over but it was just about to begin. Even though we were late the Rotary Club of Feni Central was prepared and we were raring to go.
We were welcomed by the clapping and cheering of the children and an exchange of their Rotary ball caps and bouquets of flowers. Within 15 minutes we were ready to go with the 832 bedkits to be distributed. The organization, pre-planning, and preparation by this local Rotary club was outstanding and it certainly worked to our advantage. We finished this distribution in record time according to the Overseas Volunteer Organization from the Rotary Club of Dhaka. Hats off to Faruk, Milon, Jamal, and Bayezid for their excellent distribution site and their hosting of the volunteers.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
The distribution was completed and we were quickly driven to a local Rotarians home where seventy people sat down for a true Bengali lunch. A feast enjoyed by all!
After that we were then taken out to the village of Gonuk some 20 kilometers away for some home visits. What an outstanding experience for all! We first visited the home of a young boy who had received a bedkit in last year’s distribution. His father welcomed us into their home and was so proud of the gift that his son had received last year. As we walked through the village it was beginning to get darker and darker and as we walked the crowds got larger and larger. We had a great time interacting with the children and many of the older locals. We taught them a new reply to “how are you” with the new reply “fantastic” and as we walked towards the next home loud cheers were echoing through the village. We felt were like the Pied Piper of Hamlin.
The next home visit was the home of this year’s bedkit recipient. Many of the children in this particular village had received a bedkit and were still proudly wearing their new clothes.
Thank you, donors, as it was truly evident that there are many needy children deserving bedkits. After the visits to the homes, we were truly emotionally drained by the experience. We headed to the hotel to check in and have a quick clean up before being taken to a cultural evening performance. We were entertained by local dancers and singers and then were treated to a very late dinner and we eventually made it back to the hotel by 10:30 pm. An 18 ½ day but the experience is one that none of us with forget.
Sadness is starting to creep in as we complete Day 8 with only 2 more distributions to finish, one in Chittagong and the last one in Cox’s Bazar.
Mike Foster
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Bangladesh: On the road
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
- Very short night in Habiganj,
- Up at 4:30 am,
- Seven-hour drive with a short "street breakfast" along the way,
- 832 bedkit distribution in Feni,
- Home and village visit for this year's and last year's kids & bedkits,
- Off to a "cultural evening."
Real blog and pictures to follow when we can catch our breath.
Doug MacDougald
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Nicaragua: 469 Children in Managua
Day 2
A hot humid morning after a night of heavy rain. So much rain, a turtle had taken shelter in the restaurant with us at supper the previous night. Made for great pictures!Our inner-city distribution this second day was at a local school which serves the poor of the poor in this capital city. Throngs of children and parents blocked the streets waiting for their bedkits. Police and security maintained order.
Over the course of the next six hours, 469 children had their pictures taken and left with smiles on their faces and bedkits in-hand.
The Rotarian Governor of Central America visited the school. The school children danced honouring him and the team.
A tired group of school youth and volunteers and the SCAW team shared a wonderful Nicaraguan lunch, thankful for a successful day of knowing these children would sleep better tonight.
Regards, Janet Helmer
for Team Nicaragua 2010
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Bangladesh: Habiganj and Srimongal
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
Distribution 7
After a day of rest in Dhaka we were off to an early start -- before 6 a.m. -- to Habiganj and Srimongal, where we completed our first two-site day with two distributions. The first, at Habiganj, was for 380 bedkits, and the second at Srimongal, for 220 bedkits.The distribution at Habiganj was held at the ancestral home of Gulru, wife of Rowly, one of the members of the Rotary Club of Dhaka. As usual, we tried to have some local flavour in the photo background - this time we used two baby goats. However, our background disappeared part way through the distribution when the young goat herder took away his goats because he thought they were getting too hot in the brilliant sun.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
At both locations, as we have become accustomed to and despite the best efforts of the organizers, many more parents and deserving children showed up than were selected -- hoping to be the recipient of a bedkit. Despite knowing that their child was not selected, they watched the full distribution and left only after the last bedkit was gone. This only emphasizes, once again, how valued our bedkits are to these poor communities.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
Andy Greiner
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Nicaragua: 500 Children in Dario
A five o'clock start today in order to reach our first distribution site in Dario, Nicaragua. It became quite the adventure when the team had to transfer to the back of a local pick-up truck in order to navigate through the deep, gooey mud and gigantic ruts and potholes -- left over from the still-lingering rainy season.
Our distribution was a huge success thanks to the help of many local volunteers and our Rotarian partners. Five hundred very happy children went home with their new bedkits; some by horseback, many sitting in the back of big trucks, and lots on foot for a long walk home.
They will all surely sleep well tonight and so will our team after a very busy day!
Patti Jones
for Team Nicaragua 2010
p.s.: The computer froze. Pictures to come.
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Our distribution was a huge success thanks to the help of many local volunteers and our Rotarian partners. Five hundred very happy children went home with their new bedkits; some by horseback, many sitting in the back of big trucks, and lots on foot for a long walk home.
They will all surely sleep well tonight and so will our team after a very busy day!
Patti Jones
for Team Nicaragua 2010
p.s.: The computer froze. Pictures to come.
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Bangladesh: Back in Dhaka
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
Travel Blog
Khulna to Pabna to Domar to Dhaka, a three-day Bangladesh road trip that took us -- as the distribution blogs said -- to the Northwestern area of Bangladesh.The faithful readers of different distribution’s blogs and reports understand well the crazy, chaotic yet rhythmic flow of traffic with such an eclectic range of conveyances so I won’t bore you with further descriptors. However, the pit stops are all unique: for example, stopping for a mid-afternoon snack at a street vendor (we have great confidence in our robust immune system!) and sampling his Deem Chop (deep fried battered hard boiled egg), Aloo Chop (deep fried battered potato), and Pakura (deep fried battered vegetables) all washed down with street tea. Yummy! Oh, did I mention the dried cow dung fuel sticks firing up the oil pot? We have taken a pact to not eat anything deep fried and battered for at least a month after we come home.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
But most importantly this road trip was all about camaraderie amongst our extended Rotary and Sleeping Children members as we “help the world, one child at a time” reaching out to the poorer areas of Bangladesh.
... Stayed tuned, more travel ahead -- including a tea plantation distribution, Hill tract kids receiving bedkits for the first time and much more ...
Doug MacDougald
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Nicaragua: The team arrives
Our Canadian SCAW team has landed safely in hot and sunny Managua, Nicaragua. After a quick wash-up, we met to "rehearse" our bedkit set-up and then on to meet with our Rotarian partners.
After finalizing plans for the next twelve days, we enjoyed a scrumptious Nicaraguan dinner in a local outdoor restaurant, eating under the palm trees and serenaded by a local musician. We are so ready to sleep tonight, yet so eager to get started with the children tomorrow.
Patti Jones
for Team Nicaragua 2010
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After finalizing plans for the next twelve days, we enjoyed a scrumptious Nicaraguan dinner in a local outdoor restaurant, eating under the palm trees and serenaded by a local musician. We are so ready to sleep tonight, yet so eager to get started with the children tomorrow.
Patti Jones
for Team Nicaragua 2010
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Bangladesh: Our day in Domar
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
We woke up to our first day of overcast with the occasional sprinkle of rain.
When we arrived at the village all 310 children who were to receive bedkits and their families were gathered under a very large tent. Khaliq’s uncle, Abbasi, had organized approximately forty-five minutes of entertainment while the six of us from SCAW set up the distribution flow and photography area. There was plenty of singing by the children. And just before the distribution started Kathy and I sang "O Canada" to the crowd. It’s highly unlikely we will be found at a stadium conducting opening ceremonies anytime soon.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
When we set up our photography area we placed two rickshawvans in the background with both owners agreeing to leave their vehicles for the couple of hours required to take pictures. But half way through when our backs were turned one of the drivers snuck in and was taking his away. We were able to convince him with some taka-help ($) to leave it but found out at the end his child had received a bedkit early in the distribution and his wife and child were waiting for him to take them home! Oops, the challenges of communication!
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
Steve Allen
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Nicaragua: The team prepares
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| From Nicaragua 2010 |
The six-member team is (Left to right): Patti Jones, Joan Hryniw (Team Leader), Garrick Byers, Dennis Jones, Janet Helmer, and Judy Dryden.
You can see photos of the label sort in the Nicaragua 2010 Photo Album.
Early on the 1st of November they boarded the plane for Nicaragua.
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Nicaragua: Leave your comments here
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Bangladesh: Day 5, Pabna
It takes a village …
As we arrive by bus at today’s distribution site in the town of Madpur on the outskirts of Pabna, we see a sign hanging over the entrance to the driveway welcoming the SCAW Canada and Rotary Club of Dhaka Team. |
| From Bangladesh 2010 |
This is a new location for a SCAW distribution, Gulnar Children’s Hospital. Our host comes from a long line of physicians and the hospital is named after his departed Mother’s family name.
A colourful tent has been set up as change rooms for the children and to keep them shaded from the scorching sun. This is the poorest area we’ve been to so far, and some of the children arrive without shoes or shirts. This reinforces why we are travelling many hours to reach these poor communities. We spend a few minutes with the bubbles and the duck puppet to help the children - and parents - feel more at ease. The parents and grandparents have just as much fun blowing the bubbles as the kids do.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
As the distribution wraps up we spend a few minutes to hear from local dignitaries, the site sponsor, and the children and parents. Those who have received bedkits are ever so thankful, while the parents of those who didn’t receive this year speak clearly into the microphone about how they hope and pray that the program will continue and that their children will be blessed enough to get one next year.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
As we walk back to the bus we are reminded that it really does take a village…
Danielle Lalonde
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Bangladesh: 372 Bedkit in Khulna
The team is sending lots of photos so please check out their Photo Album.
Bangladesh 2010
Click on the photo at right and select Slideshow when you go to the album.
Today we delivered 372 bedkits with the sponsorship and assistance of seven Rotary Clubs in the Khulna area. There were children from over ten schools, some coming from as far as seventy kilometers.
The venue was at a Rotary-funded school and we were given a rousing reception by the school children at the school; we enjoyed taking pictures of the children and shaking hands with them so much that their teachers were forced to hush them back into the classrooms.
We chose a good shady spot for the setups for the picture-taking, among trees and down-loaded the bedkits into piles organized by bedkits for girls and boys in two sizes.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
We were greatly assisted in the distribution by the members of the Dhaka Rotary Club, as well as three Rotaractors: Shohel, Didar, and Forhad from Dhaka. As well, we had assistance from the Boy Scout Club in Khulna and others.
The delivery went so smoothly that we freed up Kathy to do a couple of interviews with parents that were quite interesting.
One very interesting event was to meet up with Rtn. Ferdousi Ali, the first woman Rotarian in Bangladesh.
Khulna is an industrial city and a major port in Bangladesh with a population of over three million people and is close to a UNESCO heritage site.
Andy Greiner
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Bangladesh: From Barisal to Khulna
We left Barisal at 6 AM on the Rocket, a paddleboat steamer built in 1929 in Calcutta. The 5 AM arrival to the dock area was alive with rickshaw horns and driver shouts (possibly curses) as the traffic snarled to a standstill. We finally gave up and lugged our gear to the steamer.
It was then the harbour’s turn to come alive as a beautiful dawn broke over the Kittankhola River and as we started the journey down ten different rivers arriving in Khulna late evening.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
These rivers with the myriad of boats and ships move goods and people the same way as our highways do. Of course fishing boats zigzag all over the river as they work at feeding the people of Bangladesh. We enjoyed Hilsha, the national fish of Bangladesh for lunch and caught in these same waters.
This was a day of relaxation spent mostly on the front deck of the Rocket enjoying the unfolding river in the company of the Sleeping Children and Rotary Team, and after 2,832 bedkits in three days we needed the rest.
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
It is all fun as we help the world one child at a time.
Doug MacDougald
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Bangladesh: Barisal, The Third Distribution
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
We were greeted by a family gathering of thousands. Not only did the 1,032 children show up from the local village and surrounding districts, but all the local families were there to witness the distibution of today's bedkits.
What friendly people and so glad to see us. The children were welcomed not only by us but also by the large number of volunteers that helped. They smiled, clapped and "thumbs'd up" when they received their bedkits. Lots of hand shaking and practising of their English: "Welcome and Thank you."
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
We finished the evening with a local supper provided by Captain Moazzam, President of the Rotary Club of Dhaka with pigeon and prawns on the menu. An hour evening ride in rickshaws throughout the village ended a wonderful day for all of us.
Mike Foster
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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Bangladesh: Overnight to Barisal
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
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| From Bangladesh 2010 |
Tomorrow is a day off and a day on the “Rocket,” a river paddleboat taking us to our next distribution.
Maybe we will see a Bengal tiger?
Doug MacDougald
for Bangladesh Team 2010
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