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Philippines: Interviewing the Parents

From Philippines 2011
The morning distribution was at a convent to which the children had been transported. The Sisters are very influential in the lives of the local people providing school supplies, advice, and medical assistance. Some of the children had noticeable medical problems.

My responsibility was to conduct interviews with parents about the bedkits. The information gleaned from these encounters reveals that living conditions are sub-standard with entire families sleeping on the floor with only cardboard as a buffer. The rainy season is particularly difficult because of heavy and frequent flooding. In some cases the breadwinner is unable to get to work thus cutting off the income for long periods of time. The children are prone to colds, flu, and TB.

When asked what item from the bedkit would be most beneficial the common reply was the school supplies because they could be shared among the siblings. If possible they would like vitamins added to the kit.

All of my interviewees wanted higher education for their children.

Faith Clark
for Team Philippines 2011

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Kenya: First distribution

VIDEO - Click above to view.
From Kenya 2011
Imagine 900 children between the ages of 7 and 12 all in one location needing to change into new outfits, sit still for a short presentation, and then line up for photos and bedkits.

Add the vibrancy of their new brightly coloured clothing with the clear, pure strength of their young confident voices spontaneously singing gospel songs and you have our experience today during our first distribution.

To see and hear the video, click on the graphic at right.

From Kenya 2011

One of the highlights for us was the parent interviews which were held with the skill of our interpreter at the end of the afternoon. The shy women enthusiastically offered their suggestions. They shared lives that are completely unfamiliar to us from Canada.

Their eyes lit up when they saw the items in the bedkit, particularly the mosquito net. When asked how they felt the bedkit benefitted their families they replied, “Our children will be able to sleep better tonight on their new mattresses instead of on the floor and they will be safer from malaria under the mosquito net.”

From Kenya 2011
Our experience today emphasized the importance of the bedkit program to the children of Kenya. The heartfelt thanks and blessings from the children and parents touched our hearts.

Team Kenya 2011

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Philippines: Marakina

From Philippines 2011
Today was our first day of distribution in the Philippines.

As a teacher, I was very interested to see that our afternoon distribution was being held at Nangka Elementary School in the town of Marakina. As the children were being organized into groups for their photos, I had an opportunity to sit and speak to the school principal. She explained that Nangka is a public school for children in Grades 1-6 with a total school population of 3,795 children.

From Philippines 2011
Due to the size of the school, children attend in two shifts--Grades 1, 3, and 5 in the morning and Grades 2, 4, and 6 in the afternoon. With 100 teachers on staff each class numbers about 38 students.

The teachers helped select the children most in need of receiving a SCAW bedkit and the principal commented on how wonderful it was to have a backpack and school supplies included in the bedkit. She found it hard to believe that 800 students would be considered a large Elementary School in Canada and that Primary class sizes are only around 20 students.

The size of the school and classes may be different in the Philippines and Canada but the smiling faces and shining eyes of the children are universal.

Pat Innes
for Team Philippines 2011

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Kenya: The team has arrived

Team Kenya arrived safely in Nairobi and spent the last two days checking the contents of a bedkit, meeting the overseas Rotary volunteers, and exploring the first distribution site where the action starts tomorrow (Monday).

From Kenya 2011
We also had some time for touring, shopping and recovering from the long flight and time change. We are looking forward to a successful distribution.

Pictured are (Left to right): Larry Donahoo (OVO Leader); Marnie Nelles; Marianne Tomlinson; Karen Bridgman-Acker; Cathy Gregory; Bill Baker, Dave Dryden (SCAW Team Leader)

Team Kenya 2011

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Philippines: Organizational Meeting

The SCAW team met with Dr. Ito Torres and his outstanding team of Overseas Volunteers in Antipolo City, just outside Manila on Sunday afternoon. They proudly showed us how they were packing the 27 items (59 pieces) into each bedkit and the high quality of each item. All of the bedkits were packed in exactly the same manner by a group of young men who were proud to be part of the SCAW team. They then showed us the two two-story houses where they were storing the 6,000 bedkits. The compact bedkits filled every room and will be transported to the distribution sites over the next two weeks, starting tomorrow morning in Brookside.

Dr. Ito Torres and his wife Alice kindly opened their own home to host the organizational meeting for the distributions. Military operations have seldom been organized with better precision and attention to detail. During the meeting he reviewed the criteria that he follows for selecting organizations to work with in the Philippines and how he wanted them to select the needy children who would receive a bedkit. It was as if the great man, Murray Dryden, himself were talking when he was speaking. It was a singular pleasure for us to hear his philosophies about SCAW and the sincerity of his and his team's work.

Afterward Dr. Torres and Alice treated the team to an authentic Filippino meal of traditional foods and delicacies for which we were most thankful. Dr Ito showed us how to peel sun-ripened mangos for dessert and Alice generously provided us with goody bags, including maps of central Luzon Island where we will be doing the 19 distributions.

We and the SCAW donors are certainly blessed to have such a wonderful team of Overseas Volunteers in the Philippines who have done everything possible to keep Murray's dream thriving.

The SCAW Philippines 2011 Team

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Philippines: The team has arrived

The SCAW distribution team spent their first morning in Quezon City, Philippines walking around the district near the hotel to get a closer look at the people who make up this mega-city. Their friendly gestures and warm smiles made us feel welcome as we passed street vendors and the employees of various shops. Each would offer a cheery hello and offer to assist us in whatever way they could.

This afternoon we will be meeting with the overseas volunteers to get ourselves organised for the 19 up-coming distributions for this trip.

Stay tuned.

The SCAW Philippines 2011 Team

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Philippines: The team prepares

The Sleeping Children Around the World travelling team for 2011 to the Philippines was at SCAW headquarter, 28 Pinehurst Crescent, this weekend preparing for their distribution of bedkits to 6,000 children in the Manila area at the end of the month.

From Philippines 2011
Pictured at right are (Left to right): Tom Chudleigh (Team Leader), Donna Chantler, Faith Clark, Monika Sergeant, Pat Innes, and Bill Sergeant.

They'll be posting reports to the Live Reports Blog when they arrive there next week.

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Pune: Mission Accomplished

5,000 more bedkits = 1,140,130 bedkits


5,000 children from rural Pune have now benefitted from this year's Sleeping Children distribution.

We wish you all had been with us to meet the children whose lives you have impacted.

Before we left Canada for our Pune work, I tried to find the regions in Pune in which we were going to be working. It proved to be a more difficult task than I anticipated. The villages were not "Google-able". Yet we now have been in these villages, played with the children in these villages, and witnessed the many and varied personalities of each of the 5,000 children who received bedkits.

We want to you see these children as we had the privilege of seeing them -- not just as needy children in India, but as kids who are fundamentally like any of our own children, but who happened to be born in a different country under different circumstances.

So, for our final photo essay, I thought I'd introduce you to some of these great kids we got to meet because of your donation.

Namaste!

Debbie Dryden
for Team Pune, 2011

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Pune: Joyful Celebration

From Pune 2011
In India, there is an art to celebration, and we are lucky enought to see many of the facets of celebration with each distribution.

Today we were greeted with music and dancing of both children and adults. We were serenaded by the children and were able to watch a number of intricate traditional dances by students enthusiastic to show themselves at their best. The teacher and girls explained the art of drawing with coloured sand and they did a collaborative demonstration for us.

As much as we are emphasizing the importance of education to the children, the children are educating us on many aspects of India's culture.

From Pune 2011
Another important part of the art of celebration is the sharing of food. My team has thoroughly enjoyed the meals we have shared with our Indian partners. Chickpeas and chapattis, dal and delicious spices, are all an intergral part of our day -- meals best eaten with our hands, knee to knee with our whole team. Although our lips are usually burning by the end of the meal, the food is delicious and we will bring home many new recipies to try in Canada.

It is a daily privilege to witness first-hand the importance of the arts in binding communities in joyful celebration.

Team Pune, 2011

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Pune: Day 5

From Pune 2011
Another day of joyful celebration for our Canadian and Indian teams!

We were greeted with song and snacks, drums and dance, bindi blessings and turbans. The entire village came out for our decorated oxen cart arrival. A procession of the village's men led us to the smiling children. Even the school yard was decorated with many, many colourful designs. Thoughtfullness and celebration was evident in every step of our day.

From Pune 2011
We were so happy that the village was celebrating "a good night's sleep, to stay healthy so that you can go to school every day" as this is a region with 25% literacy rate for women and a 35% literacy rate for men. This is substantially lower than the 55% average female literacy rate for females in India.

Our overseas partner, the Rotary Club of Pune, has worked extensively with the teachers of the region to use the bedkit as an incentive to promote education for 1st to 4th form children. The enthusiasm of the children made us think that there is definite hope for education in this region!

Team Pune, 2011

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Belgaum: Mission Accomplished in Yellapur

Including the 4,000 bedkits delivered
in Belgaum this year, our total is
now 1,135,130 bedkits since
Sleeping Children began in 1970.

5,000 more bedkits = 1,135,130 bedkits


Big day for the team … our last day of distribution with 150 bedkits at Yellapur.

Different terrain as we left the fields behind and drove into the forest. Lots of monkeys lined the road. The distribution site was a beautiful ashram … a centre for education, meditation, and spirituality.

As we entered the gates, we were struck by its tranquility and beauty. We were welcomed with flowers, handshakes, a Hindu blessing on our foreheads, and an English meditation book.

This is a new distribution site. The children were bused to the site and fed well during the day. The distribution was completed quickly and efficiently. We were then taken inside the temple and served a traditional lunch.

What a wonderful way to end our two-week journey.

Congratulations to the Rotary Clubs, the Inner Wheel, all the volunteers, and especially our donors.

Jeff Bamford,
for Team Belgaum, 2011

More blogging at Vagabondish, The Travelzine for Today's Vagabond.

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Pune: Day 4

From Pune 2011
We have such fun reading each and every label! From beautiful sentiments like "Thanks and Peace," "Celebrating 50 years of friendship," and "Follow your dreams," to seeing the places from which the donations have originated (Vancouver, Australia, Winipeg, Etobicoke ...) to the varieties of individuals and organizations that have purchased bedkits.

We often wish we knew the stories of the labels, how the donor came to hear about Sleeping Children and take action. Today we had the pleasure of knowing the story of a few of the labels- the labels from the Oakville Speed Skating Club.

From Pune 2011
We know that many of the skaters from the club are tracking our trip so we want to let them know how their kind actions made sixteen kids in India very, very happy.

This Christmas, the Club chose to support SCAW in lieu of Christmas gifts for the coaches. Today we gave out the sixteen bedits that the Oakville skaters had purchased for the kids in this village. We brought the Oakville Speed Skating club banner with us and had the children sign their name to it.

Cheers to the Oakville Speed Skating Club for making a difference in the lives of children!

Team Pune, 2011

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Belgaum: Ranebennur

From Belgaum 2011
We had an early start this morning boarding the bus at 0730 hours after a quick bit of breakfast.

We arrived at Ranebennur at about 0930 hours after a trip through cotton fields. The roadway was full of carts piled dangerously high with cotton and all pulled by oxen. We received a royal welcome at the hands of the Rotarians and were bedecked with garlands of flowers, presented with roses, and offered incense. Lastly we received the red forehead Hindu blessing.

The children as usual were excited and entranced by the entertainment provided by the SCAW team. They even learned how to sing "We will rock you" fully accompanied by the percussion on the wooden desks offered by myself and Tamara.

The distribution itself took place in a courtyard surrounded on two sides by a balcony. The parents occupied the balcony and but for the occasional exchange with their children were perfectly behaved and provided an interesting backdrop.

We took a protracted lunch break and thus the distribution was long as we didn't finish until 1730 hours followed by a two-hour trip back to our hotel in Hubli.

It was a tiring day but the smiles of 697 children and the expressions of gratitude from the parents made it all worthwhile. As we were packing up to leave I heard some of the kids singing "We will rock you" as they left. I think we left more behind than just bedkits -- hopefully some good memories and the sense that there are those who care for them.

Tom Todd,
for Team Belgaum, 2011

More blogging at Chic Savvy Travels, A Backpacker's Guide for Grown-ups

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