Bangladesh: Sreepur Distribution Day 8 - Distribution Completed!
After today's distribution of 610 bedkits the team is feeling a little tired but in their hearts they know that 6000 children are now sleeping more comfortable and are a little more prepared for the winter months ahead. It certainly was a sad but a happy moment when the final bedkit was passed into the hands of the last child. 
After the distribution was complete, the team had the supreme pleasure of visiting the home of a recipient of a bedkit from last year's distribution. It was certainly an eye opener for many as to the living conditions and the need that these people really do have. The bedkit showed signs of being heavily used but was still in very good condition as it had been certainly cared for by the boy and his family. We ended the day with an outdoor barbecue at one of the local Rotarian's summer cottage. A word of thanks to all those people involved to make this a dream come true.
Including the 6,000 bedkits delivered by
the Bangladesh team this year, our total is
now 1,255,130 bedkits since Sleeping
Children began in 1970.
A very Big Thank You to our Overseas Volunteer Partners - The Rotary Club of Dhaka for everything that they did to make our travels a safe and comfortable one and giving us the opportunity to touch the lives of 6000 Bangladeshi children and their families.
 |
| To see all the pictures from see our album Bangladesh 2012 |
Mike Foster for Team Bangladesh 2012
Post your comments here:
Bangladesh: Chittagong Distribution Day 7
We have one more distribution after Chittagong and our mission of 6000 bedkits in Bangladesh will be complete. While roads here are continually congested, one never sees ‘road rage’. Instead, the non-stop beeping of horns lends to a calculated (if, in our eyes, not particularly safe) shifting of positions among leg-powered rickshaws, tuk-tuks, trucks, buses and cars that seems to meet everyone’s needs. We have seen only one accident.
A four hour drive brought the SCAW team from Cox’s Bazar to Chittagong. The Chittagong camp was on the grounds of a local school. The schoolyard was walled which enabled easy site control and with the arriving children were able to use classrooms to change into their new clothes. The distribution went smoothly – 560 kits in about four and a half hours. Many of the older children feel confident enough to say ‘thank you very much’ or ‘you’re welcome’ in English. We have learned that there aren’t separate Bangla words for ‘thank you very much’ and ‘you’re welcome’. Instead, ‘doh-noh-baad’ is used for both. 
There was time after the distribution to wash before traveling to the airport for the flight back to Dhaka. We are looking forward to a day of rest. In the past eight days, we have spent nearly as much time traveling as distributing bedkits – the pace is rigorous.
A four hour drive brought the SCAW team from Cox’s Bazar to Chittagong. The Chittagong camp was on the grounds of a local school. The schoolyard was walled which enabled easy site control and with the arriving children were able to use classrooms to change into their new clothes. The distribution went smoothly – 560 kits in about four and a half hours. Many of the older children feel confident enough to say ‘thank you very much’ or ‘you’re welcome’ in English. We have learned that there aren’t separate Bangla words for ‘thank you very much’ and ‘you’re welcome’. Instead, ‘doh-noh-baad’ is used for both.
There was time after the distribution to wash before traveling to the airport for the flight back to Dhaka. We are looking forward to a day of rest. In the past eight days, we have spent nearly as much time traveling as distributing bedkits – the pace is rigorous.
Charlene Gordon for Team Bangladesh 2012
Bangladesh: Distribution 6 - Cox's Bazar
We had to take a flight from Dhaka to reach our next distribution location. We will have our second largest distribution day of 1160 bedkits. Cox’s Bazar is the most southeastern part of Bangladesh in an area with many adjacent hill tract people. This was seen clearly in the varied facial characteristics of the children with their eye shapes, cheekbones and eye colours. 500 of children that came for the bedkit distribution were from these areas and also one of the poorest areas of the country. We were told that some of the children had to travel a long distance to get to the distribution site.
Cox’s Bazar is also a busy tourist community with its extraordinary beaches and beautiful sunsets. The tourist nature of the community has produced a local culture unlike what the team experienced in the northwestern part of Bangladesh. For the first time on the street, we were approached with requests for "baksish" (tips).
The team of packers and Rotoactors who transported the bedkits to Cox’s Bazar deserve special mention. They left Dhaka at 7:30 am the previous day and did not arrive until nearly 10 pm – an arduous journey of fifteen hours. Getting through Chittagong alone took 4.5 hours. They were still on-site today with energy and dedication – a truly remarkable group of people.
The local Rotary club hosted a barbeque and cultural show for us on the rooftop patio of a local Rotarian (his fish processing plant was located in the building below). The barbeque tiger shrimps were the size of farmer sausages – absolutely the largest any of us had ever seen. Such a land of contrasts – beautiful singing and generous amounts of food after a day of so much need.
And here are some of the beautiful children we saw today.
'
Charlene Gordon for Team Bangladesh 2012
Day 5 Rangpur Distribution
Today’s distribution was very close to where we stayed the night so our travel to the site was only 20 minutes by our micro bus. This has been the shortest distance that we have had to travel to reach the children for their bedkits. It was a less tiring start to our day. We arrived to a well established but old primary school that was totally enclosed with a courtyard that certainly helped with the security of the distribution. We had many smiling and waving children on the site when we arrived. Some of the children were already dressed in their new clothing and waiting for the distribution to begin. We had visited the distribution site the night before and were able to establish the distribution plan so everything was well prepared and ready to go when we arrived. We had a smooth sailing distribution of 640 bedkits.
The team on their travels of the northern parts of Bangladesh has made some pretty distinct observations about Bangladesh. Transportation on the roads seems to be in constant motion with trucks, rickshaws, rickshaw vans, cars, people, animals and merchants etc. Bangladesh is a land of color in the local markets with produce arranged by shape and colour. The rickshaws have flashy paintings and trucks with decorative colouring and all over. The countryside is alive with a variety of green trees, rice and jute fields, banana groves, vegetable fields and water hyacinth. The clothes of the women are absolutely beautiful and rich with their traditional bright colours. Another wonderful day of travel and distribution!
Day 4 Lalmonirhat
We had another early 5:45 morning start to our distribution location. Lamonirhat is located in the most northern part of Bangladesh and very close to the India border. It was a perfect day for a distribution as the sun was shining and the morning was still cool from the evening before. This was our largest distribution of 1200 bedkits and we were looking forward to the day’s challenge. Our distribution site was an open air stadium but it had all the necessary facilities to perform our duties. The Rotary Club of Lalmonirhat was a wonderful host. They had large colourful canopied areas to provide shade for the children and the team. There was a large team of Rotaractors, volunteers and the local police to guide us along to have a very smooth and successful distribution. We were visited by my many special children today, especially the ones from the “Enclaves” of Bangladesh. These families live in the very isolated areas of Bangladesh but are governed by the India government. They virtually live in refugee camps that are still remaining from the 1971 War of Independence. They only have the opportunity to leave their home area at 8:00 am to but must return before 8:00 pm. We witnessed many various ethnic features that left us with many beautiful smiles. A special thank you to our donors for making this possible for the children of Bangladesh!
 |
| From Bangladesh 2012 |
Mike Foster for Team Bangladesh 2012
Post your comments here:
Bangladesh: Dinajpur
We were elated that we would be able to stay two nights in one place tonight after travelling and moving each day since we arrived.
At 11am while travelling on the bus some of the team were musing that it was Rememberance Day although at home it was still Saturday night.
We arrived in the blistering midday sun, fortunately the children were mostly shaded under a canopy. We elected to start immediately to get the rest of the children shaded, although we had no alternative but to set up in the direct sun we soon had the children moving
It was very hot but soon some of the team had the children clapping and cheering and playing catch with frisbees. During our distribution a cow wandered into our photo site, this seemed to relax the situation.
Tomorrow we plan to get an even earlier start (5:45) to get prepared for one of our largest distributions of over 1200 bedkits
George Foster for the Bangladesh 2012 team
Post your comments here:
Bangladesh Day 2: Jessore
It was another early start and we were still feeling the effects of jet lag, time changes and a lack of sleep. All of this dissipated when we were greeted by 820 eager but apprenhensive children lined up for what lay ahead. Many had travelled up to 300 km roundtrip to participate.
Our location was a Primary School which was in session with a population of 900+ students, and yet they accommodated an additional 820 kids and parents to change clothes and use their facilities. The number of participants necessitated some long waits but patience and good behaviour was the order of the day. With our partners, the Rotary Club of Dhaka we were able to solve some challenges of accommodating many disabled children. Mike was centred out to receive a big hug and thanks and each of us in turn experienced one of those special moments that make this work so rewarding. We are waiting to expereience the most northen parts of Bangladesh tomorrow where the greatest need of bedkit recipients reside.
Faith Clark for the Bangladesh 2012 Team
Post your comments here:
Our location was a Primary School which was in session with a population of 900+ students, and yet they accommodated an additional 820 kids and parents to change clothes and use their facilities. The number of participants necessitated some long waits but patience and good behaviour was the order of the day. With our partners, the Rotary Club of Dhaka we were able to solve some challenges of accommodating many disabled children. Mike was centred out to receive a big hug and thanks and each of us in turn experienced one of those special moments that make this work so rewarding. We are waiting to expereience the most northen parts of Bangladesh tomorrow where the greatest need of bedkit recipients reside.
Faith Clark for the Bangladesh 2012 Team
Post your comments here:
Bangladesh Day 1: Madhukhali Distribution Completed!
 |
| From Bangladesh 2012 |
arrived to a sea of colours with the children all dressed in their new colourful clothing. We were greeted with loud singing and clapping as we arrived to a natural setting on the grounds of an operating jute factory. The children were patient, well behaved and happy to see us arrive. The day was perfect with sunny skies and the occasional refreshing breeze. There were many words of thanks and smiling faces as they headed off to their home villages. We completed the distribution in good time so we were able to tour the jute factory.
 |
| From Bangladesh 2012 |
 |
| From Bangladesh 2012 |
 |
| From Bangladesh 2012 |
Bangladesh Team 2012
Post your comments here:
Bangladesh Team Has Arrived!
 |
The Bangladesh team has arrived safely and are prepared and ready to start the distribution of 6000 bedkits. We are all looking forward to our fisrt day of 440 bedkits.
Bangladesh 2012 TeamPost your comments here:
Bangladesh: Final Preparations!
 |
| From Bangladesh 2012 |
 |
| From Bangladesh 2012 |
The SCAW team will be visiting the western, north-western, south-eastern and central areas of Bangladesh as we travel by bus and plane to the poorest areas in the country to help the children. Please follow along with the blogs and the map showing our progress.
The warehouse team, shown in the pictures and in the Bangladesh 2012 Photo Album are the heroes in the preparation for the distribution. The team does tremendous work, working long hours in hot conditions to get everything assembled and ready to be shipped out to the distribution centres. The team is showing some of the 6000 bedkits that are to be distributed this year.
The Rotary Club of Dhaka is anxiously waiting for the SCAW Team to arrive so the distribution can begin.
 |
| From Bangladesh 2012 |
 |
| From Bangladesh 2012 |
Mike Foster
for the Bangladesh 2012 Team
Post your comments here:
Honduras: Mission Accomplished
Five thousand young children in Honduras are now sleeping on a cozy and bright mattress, nestled under a new blanket. On Monday, they shall be taking new school supplies to school and perhaps playing in their new clothes afterwards. We have finished another successful SCAW distribution and are heading home to our comfortable lives in Canada, ever mindful of the unfortunate reality of poverty in which so many children live around the world.
Including the 5,000 bedkits delivered by
the Honduras team this year, our total is
now 1,249,130 bedkits since Sleeping
Children began in 1970.
We shall remember happy faces and bright smiles. We ‘ll chuckle as we recall the sight of a small child almost hidden by the large bedkit gleefully making his or her way down the path to a waiting bus. We won’t forget the beaming, proud mothers and fathers waving their farewells, shouting their thanks to us and all who have given this gift of love and comfort.
We’ll remember all those who have helped us in our distribution, the Rotarians and their wives, young people involved in the Rotoracts and with the Healthy Schools Program. We won’t forget the warm hospitality and genuine friendship of all the Hondurans who have supported SCAW in this child project. In many ways it was the best of times. Memories collected; new friendships cherished; five thousand smiles imprinted on our hearts.
Honduras: Home Visits
Her 9 year old son received a kit last year and along with his mother and 2 brothers - aged 11 and 13 shared a one room home at the cost of $25.00/month in rent - utilities were extra!
They would put the mattress on the floor for this little guy, while the mother and 2 other boys slept together in the only other bed in the room. Across from the bed was a hot plate and about 25 yards outside the back door was an outhouse, which appeared to be shared by others in this neighbourhood.
Mom was delighted when we gave her a left over shower curtain which she is holding. She could use this to put on the concrete floor under the mattress in order to keep the mattress dry during the rains.
The three boys appeared happy and well loved by their mother. To know that the gift of a bedkit enriched their lives every so slightly was truly the best ending of an emotional two weeks.
From these 3 boys and their mother - thank you SCAW donors!
Theresa Carravetta - Honduras 2012
Post your comments here:
Honduras: A perfect day!
During her interviews Theresa found that one 9 year old was still sleeping in her crib. How happy can you imagine that receiving the SCAW bedkit made that little girl?
One of the benefits of sourcing the components of the bedkit in the country of distribution is the employment that it creates. Today we were introduced to a cottage industry employing 16 local women. The women first complete a sewing training program for 6 months. They are then employed in a small enterprise that completes custom sewing jobs. The quality of the work was substantially better than mass produced low end product and pricing appeared to be extremely competitive. In a country with high unemployment this training and redeployment of idle resources is a significant event. It creates much needed income opportunities for low skilled, inner city families and helps give them hope.
As part of the Honduran procurement process, Theresa and SCAW in conjunction with the local Rotarians will investigate if there is an opportunity to use this fledgling industry. There may be an opportunity to have them manufacture some of components in the bedkit.
Another beautiful day working with beautiful children as we think about everyone at home dealing with Sandy.
Ken Teslia for Team Honduras 2012
Post your comments here:
Bangladesh: 2012 Team Getting Ready!
The Bangladesh team is preparing to leave. Here is the picture taken at their July planning meeting!
Front Row Left to Right: Charlene Gordon, George Foster, Patsy Leamon
Post your comments here:
Bangladesh: Post your comments here
As a courtesy please add your name to the end of your post.
Honduras: The First Lady
Today our distribution was at El Carrizal, an inner city school in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. During this largest distribution of 717 bedkits, we were advised that the First Lady of Honduras would be visiting the site. The First Ladies of Honduras have traditionally been the sponsors of the Healthy Schools Program and supporters of the SCAW bedkit distribution for the past 11 years. Many volunteers from the program assist in our daily distributions. There was a great deal of anticipation awaiting her arrival among the Rotarians, Healthy Schools volunteers, students and our SCAW team. When she arrived with her entourage (TV cameramen, photographers, secret service and military), it was quite a scene. The first lady followed the bedkit distribution process through each of its steps while always stopping and talking with the various volunteers. All the TV cameras were rolling for this stop. She particularly quite enjoyed talking with some of the children, particularly those who were receiving bedkits after their photos were taken. It was obvious that the First Lady’s support for our program is genuine and heartfelt.
The media have been very interested in the SCAW distribution and our partners, the Rotary Club of Tegucigalpa. Many days have been interrupted with various TV personnel tracking the distribution and interviewing SCAW members, other volunteers and the children receiving bedkits. Our good work is spreading throughout the city. In every instance, SCAW’s contribution to the betterment of the lives of 5000 children has been met with gratitude. So far, we have touched the lives of 3490 children. It has been a great experience.
On behalf of the SCAW team 2012