Chennai: Hope

You may have noticed that there has been no blog for a few days. Sorry, but we have been too busy riding elephants, visiting spice plantations and travelling from one location to another.  Consequently we have returned too late at night to create a blog. So the following blog for today was written en route and is being added now that we have settled in again.

Hope

The SCAW bed kit gives each child articles, such as exercise books, pencils and a back pack, that will support them in school and hopefully to stay in school. The clothes help them to feel better about themselves. With the blanket, sheets, quilted pad and ground cover, the SCAW bedkit encourages a good night sleep so that each child can embrace the day and make it the best it can be. The bedkit provides a towel, nail clippers and bedding to encourage cleanliness, respect for the body and quality sleep.

But the biggest gift of the bed kit is the hope you see in the child’s eyes when he or she receives it. That is the magic of the bed kit. It gives each child the ability to dream of a better tomorrow. In Theni we delivered 409 bed kits and thanks to your donations the children had hope in their eyes and bigger dreams. 

Team Chennai 2015
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Kolkata: It's a Wrap!

We delivered our last bedkit Thursday morning.  The little boy had waited patiently, finally receiving his gift, joined by his mother, to officially end the distribution.

Many had already left the neighbourhood site, some walking

Some on bike,

Some in a tuk tuk

It was a happy day for them

We were honoured guests at a final banquet, at which Rotarians and their families joined to bid us farewell. It has been a special distribution for them as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of their club and their 17th SCAW distribution. We return to Canada, embraced by the warmth of their kind hospitality and overwhelmed by the tremendous amount of work they do to make each year's distribution so efficient and successful.

We leave, leaving a little bit of ourselves in spirit and friendship in Kolkata, but take with us many treasured memories that will last forever.

Team Kolkata 2015
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Kolkata: Krishnanagar

Each day brings a unique experience, a new destination, a wonderful gathering of Rotarians, volunteers and of course, hundreds of delightful children.  Some are sombre, needing much coaxing to bring forth a smile; others quite outgoing, anxious to practise their English.  All are in need and so deserving of the SCAW bedkit.

Today’s journey was a 6 hour round trip to Krishnanagar, reached by the only road that leads to Bangladesh and Assam.  Consequently, our skillful driver battled for space on the road with many cars, wagons, motorcycles and trucks.. 

Each distribution has much in common:

Entertaining the children, coaxing out those smiles

Helping set up the photo shoot

Sharing special moments

Accepting the sincere gratitude of bedkit recipients

Working with Rotarians who have become our friends

At day’s end we had brought smiles to 460 children in Krishnanagar.  Just once more chance to bring joy and comfort to children in our last distribution tomorrow.  Just one more chance to accept the wonderful hospitality of our hosts, members of the Rotary Club of Dum Dum.  Just one more day to collect some treasured moments. And one more day to see those beautiful smiles and happy children.

Irene Harrison for Team Kolkata 2015

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Kolkata: Barrackpore

Our Day 8 distribution was at Barrackpore, a military installation in Kolkata, on the shores of the Ganges River. It was a large site, and the children arrived bright and early to receive their bedkits. Temperatures have been rising steadily over the past week, so the children no longer choose to wear their new fleece jackets from their bedkits for their photos. As the day got hotter we were able to find shade for the children under the trees. There were lots of smiles from the children before they left with their new bedkits.

At the end of the distribution we had the privilege of touring the Gandhi Museum located on the site.

Only two more distributions before all 5,000 children will have the joy of a better sleep.

Judy Dryden for Team Kolkata 2015

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Kolkata: Chandra's Garden

Today was another memorable day in Kolkata. 

The team travelled 60 kilometers to Chandra's Garden, the site for today's distribution. This site is owned by an Indian company that produces snack food, and is used by them for special events. This was a beautiful setting, with lovely manicured lawns, well-tended gardens and modern buildings.

The most notable thing was the dramatic contrast between a place like this and the "village" we visited yesterday where bedkit recipients live. In fact, as you travel to and from every distribution site the scene from the van window always seems slightly chaotic, with people, bikes, motorcycles, tuk tuks, wagons, cars and trucks weaving over every inch of road. At the side of the road the prominent color this time of year is grey; the grey of shanties and shacks, buildings and worn advertising signs. Chandra's Garden was quite an oasis in the midst of this.

Surprisingly, the children lining up to have their photos taken did not seem impressed at all. They are much more interested in the bedkit process, the items they will receive and in clowning around with their friends in line. With our normal league of volunteers including some Rotary children, the process was as smooth as ever. Today was our biggest distribution of this trip - 640 bedkits, 640 warm and appreciative smiles.

Tonight we are off to a wedding. One of the Dum Dum Rotarian's daughters is getting married and we have been graciously invited.

Oh dear, what to wear?!

Lynn Benson for Team Kolkata
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Kolkata: Bira

Today, we travelled about 50 km to arrive at the distribution in Bira, Ashoknagar. Using rural roads in India, travelling time is double that which we might expect at home.  However, compared to the first group of children who received bedkits, that was very little distance at all.  Those youngsters left their homes at 3:00 am in order to travel over 100 km and still arrive on time for the distribution. They lived near Sunderban, an area close to the sanctuary to protect Bengal tigers which are in danger of extinction in India.

Our Overseas Partners once again made sure that all children were fed before they prepared for the distribution, itself a fairly lengthy process for children who are tired and perhaps a little wary of strangers.

Happy faces,

Beautiful smiles

Even watchful parents,

Made yet another memorable day for us.

Following the customary generous lunch , we had the opportunity to visit a nearby village to see where some of the bedkit recipients live.  What a humbling experience that was, seeing the conditions in which these children grow up.  Yet the children were so happy and excited to meet us.

 It was a community of squatters who had moved onto some unused railway lands, starting about fifteen years ago.  They had very little, with many families, often with seven or eight members sharing a single room. Even so we’ll never forget  the little girl who had received her bedkit this morning.  When asked what her favourite item in the kit was, her smile grew and her eyes sparkled as she proudly displayed the lovely blue dress she was wearing.

She was absolutely beautiful!

Anne and Larry Kell for Team Kolkata 2015
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Chennai: Day 3 Distribution at Kilpauk

Today was a warm, sunny day and the distribution ran smoothly. At times there was even a feeling that an external source (God?) was synchronizing our actions. We were outside in a school yard and because it was Sunday we did not have any children from that school to help or hinder. Our overseas volunteers, The Rotarians of Ambattur helped with the communications. We are always very thankful for their help.

One the joys of our day was hearing about a letter posted on Marg’s Facebook page written by the children from an orphanage. Yesterday they received bedkits from SCAW and were filled with a wonderful sense of joy which spread to us all. (Happiness is Contagious)

Team Chennai 2015

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Chennai: Happiness is Contagious!!

Day 2 – Scaw’s 2015 Chennai Distribution in Vallore was a three hour drive from our hotel. Fortified with a breakfast stop along the way, we arrived at the community centre mid-morning.  After a few last minute details were ironed out, the event was soon underway. The 600 children quickly warmed to the occasion. Their smiles and excitement were contagious.

As with any SCAW distribution, it can be said that the volunteers benefited as much from the experience as the children and their families. We may have been separated by language and culture but we could easily connect by sharing a happy day.  The children would on occasion approach these “white” people with trepidation and some fear but the sheer joy on their faces when they received their bedkits made it all worthwhile. A smile would light up their faces as most of them struggled to carry the heavy kit by themselves.

As a grand finale, we were treated to some impromptu singing and dancing by the children of the Mercy Home Orphanage, Tiruvannamalai. They laughed and sang with complete abandon and delight. Their day was almost over and they had a new bedkit to take with them.

A delicious lunch at a nearby restaurant was provided for the volunteers by Shan of Rotary Club Vellore. Shan was the organizer of today’s event. All of us then piled into the van for the trip back to Chennai – tired but happy.

Team Chennai 2015
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Kolkata: Our Road Trip

Dahlias seemed to be the theme of these distributions.  The first day on the road we visited Gangadharpur, for a distribution at a college.  On the same site, Rotary is building a hospital to care for patients with eye problems, particularly cataracts.  We had lots of volunteer help, and our photo site was in front of a garden featuring dahlias.  It was a beautiful backdrop to the lovely children we saw.

Student Teacher Volunteers

Children and parents were fed before each child received its bedkit, a testimony to the extra effort  that our Overseas Partners make to ensure the success of the distribution.  Many children had travelled considerable distances to reach the distribution site.

After a short drive we visited Howrah for another distribution.  It was the first time the Rotary Clubs in that area had hosted a distribution and they put a great deal of effort into it, with good success.  The children were tired, and the sun was casting long shadows by the time we finished. But they were extremely pleased with their bedkit and it was satisfying to know that they will now have a good night’s rest after a long, weary ride home.

We stayed overnight in Kharagpur where we were very well-treated by the Rotary team.  The following day there was a distribution at the Tata Bearing Factory compound.  It was another well-run distribution and the photo backdrop was a row of potted dahlias.  They were a compliment to the bright colours of the girls' dresses.

After the long drive back to Kolkata, today is our rest day.  More than half of the 5,000 bedkits have been handed out to needy children, and tomorrow we're looking forward to the start of giving the gift of a bedkit to the rest of the children. 

Judy Dryden for Team Kolkata 2015

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Chennai: Avadi Surprises!

This was Day 1 of the Chennai distribution and it was to be our “warm up” day, a straight- forward distribution not far from Chennai. The plan was to ease ourselves into our ten days of distributions.  The day was a great success with some lovely surprises. 

The first surprise was the engagement of a large number of level 10 students helping out. These young people were enthusiastic and energetic. (They also got the day off of school, which delighted them all - this was not a surprise.)

The second surprise was melodic chanting in Sanskrit by boys from the Adi Shankara Institute of Cultural Research and Training.  They preformed during an unexpected morning break. The chants from the lost language of Sanskrit are meditative and soothing. It took these boys two years of studying to learn these mysterious, ancient melodies.

On the way home we had two surprise stops.  First was a visit to the packing centre where they packed the items for the bedkits in the Chennai area. A number of women work for about 2 weeks, diligently packing 500 kits a day.  What an assembly line they have created!  They are paid for their efforts by the Rotary Club’s SCAW budget.  SCAW offers financial opportunities to small industries who create items for the bedkits. (All the money that is donated for a bedkit goes to the country in which the bedkit is distributed and all items are purchased there.)

 Our second visit was to the Ambattur Rotary Hospital where we ate a lunch of pizza and KFC chicken burgers (now that was a surprise) and toured the facility. This hospital is a tribute to the Rotarians who work hard to support it financially with their fundraising efforts. Our host Rotarians raise money for this hospital, a school and, of course, SCAW.  The Rotarians in India provide a great deal of support to their communities and the less fortunate.

We have indeed “warmed ourselves up” for future distributions. Stay tuned.

Team Chennai 2015

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Kolkata: A Traditional Dance

Team Kolkata 2015
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Kolkata: A Rural Experience

We were headed out at 7am from our hotel and already the streets were full of vehicles and people. Today's distribution was at Kalanabagram, a community surrounded by flat, fertile farmland. Most of the rice had been harvested, but lush, green fields were filled with potatoes and mustard plants.  Some banana groves dotted the landscape and everywhere we saw goats.

Kolkata's economy is largely based on its agriculture.

We were warmly welcomed by the hosting Rotary Club of Sikshaniketan and then entertained by local children, dressed in traditional costume, performing aboriginal dances.

Whether in the hustle and bustle of Kolkata and suburbs or in the countryside, the children's delight in receiving the bedkits was obvious.

After the distribution, we toured the quite unique community. The village was a wonderful example of a planned community, started by the freedom fighter, Bijoy Kumar Bhattachary, and is really based on a holistic approach to a community. We saw a day care for young children so both parents could work in the fields, a school, a vocational institute  and a nearly completed nursing home for the elderly.  A craft centre in the complex specialized in hand made bags to be sold at city markets. We all made purchases as memorable souvenirs of this particular day. The central square of the village was a beautiful setting, nicely landscaped, and the villagers were clearly proud of their community.

Anne Kell for Team Kolkata 2015
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Pune: Our Pictures

Chennai: Getting Ready

Team Chennai was greeted last night at midnight by our wonderful Rotarians. There is great excitement here over the distribution of the 100 000th bedkit in Chennai. The first distribution was in 1987, some 28 years ago. Judy will be joining us to present the special bed kit on our last day of distribution.

Team Members from Left to right. Lawrence Hutchinson, Sue Small (Team Leader), Cathy Gregory, Donna Chantler, Marg Garrett (Assistant Team Leader), Don Barclay

Today we were busy checking out the bedkit and are pleased to announce all is in good order. Lawrence led us in yoga breathing exercises as a warm up activity. We even witnessed a wedding in our hotel amidst bands and fireworks announcing the groom and an elevator ride with the bride. We’re off to a great start to our distribution.

The Bride

Marg for Team Chennai

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Pune: Final Day

Day 7 Wagholi

It’s a Done Deal!

As we travelled towards Wagholi I reflected on the past distribution days, and realized how lucky I was to have been part of a team who worked together to achieve our goal…to distribute 4,000 bedkits to 4,000 needy children in India.  We laughed and we cried, but we stood firm in the fact that we were helping these children.  That kept us going, throughout our jet lag and sickness.

Waiting in line for their bedkits

The community of Wagholi welcomed us with smiles and open arms.  We have been honoured to be a part of their celebration and thoroughly enjoyed the pomp & circumstance.  Reality will be coming soon when we come home…no more treating us like rock stars, but that is just fine.  We will have our memories of 6 team members banding together and becoming friends.

Team SCAW with Rotarians after final distribution

800 children today have now received their bedkits and their smiling faces will forever be with us.

Crowd of happy children being told what's in their bedkits

Team Pune 2015

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Kolkata: What a Wonderful Day!

Today's distribution was another wonderful experience. The SCAW team travelled through the city to Kamarhati where we were met by members of the Kamarhati Rotary Club who joined together with members of the Rotary Club of Dum Dum to facilitate the distribution. In addition, we had the great good fortune of having 16 young ladies from the Safal Bedside Nursing Training school also assisting in many areas. The confidence and enthusiasm of these young women was infectious and made the day even more fun and rewarding. 

With all of these committed volunteers our distribution went without a hitch - if they all went this smoothly it would make it hard to find good blog material!! The distribution included 2 large photo shots - one of 45 children and another of 50. Even these photos went smoothly as the children showed great patience as we lined them all up. The last of the 524 smiling faces left the park around 2:00.

From there, we graciously accepted an invitation from the Kamarhati Rotarians to join them at their club for refreshments - well fed as always.

On our way back to our hotel we took a detour to drive around a newly developing part of Kolkata near the airport - what a contrast! Tall new condominiums, a new metro, a massive "Eco Park" and modern shopping mall. Although it is encouraging to see the city growing it also served to reinforce the large gap between have and have-not that exists here in India. 

James Cook

Team Kolkata 2015

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Pune: Day 6

Today’s distribution took the Pune team to the Junnar area approximately 125 km

north of Pune. The day was perfect weather wise with the temperature in the low 20’s Celsius .  The area is at a higher elevation than Pune, and the air was fresh.

The drive to our destination took us through agricultural areas. The soil appears quite fertile and the evidence of this could be seen by the number of various crops. Corn, sugar cane and grapes, as well as cabbage to name a few.

The distribution went smoothly as 800 children received bed kits.  All the children were happy to receive the many items in the bedkit.  We finished the distribution and headed back to Pune tired but happy to have accomplished our goal for this 4^th full distribution day.  We have distributed 3,200 bedkits to date.

Team Pune 2015

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Kolkata: Our first distribution

Today was our first distribution day in Kolkata. To start off, we experienced a couple of hiccups when the van that was to take us to the first of our two distribution locations had mechanical problems. A replacement vehicle was organized but things got more interesting when almost immediately that car got a flat tire. Pulling out of the way of traffic in a city of such size and commotion is not easy, but our driver found a safe spot, changing the tire as cars, bikes and people flowed by.

James helping to change a flat

We arrived at the morning location in one piece and only a bit behind schedule and were greeted by our hosts, The Rotary Club of Dum Dum. The Rotarians do all of the local work required to make the Kolkata SCAW distribution a success, including identifying the children and sourcing all of the materials included in the bedkit. This year's kit is packed with items the children will use and value for a long time: a nylon mat, mattress, pillow, blanket, sheet, mosquito net, clothing, sandals, umbrella, backpack, school stationary dictionary and study materials.

preparing the bedkits

We were lucky to have a cool comfortable location to organize the 100 children in the morning group, take their photos and hand out the bedkits. As someone who has not previously been on a SCAW distribution, all I can say is: WOW! The children are almost overwhelmed by the good fortune of receiving the bedkit with all of its contents. Smiles light up their faces as they head out with such a treasure trove. Their parents are clearly equally grateful, offering thanks and their own warm smile as they collect their children, bedkit in hand.

Lynn handing out a bedkit

After a busy morning we moved to another location in the city where we were supported by the Rotary Club of Calcutta North East, as well as again by the Rotary Club of Dum Dum. As the sun sat high in the sky we handed out bedkits to another 500 smiling children.

Greeted by North Calcutta Club with flowers for afternoon distribution

After the last (and almost tiniest) child collected their bedkit, the SCAW team tidied up and headed back to our hotel feeling very satisfied by the efforts of such a successful day.

Happy Children

Lynn Benson
Team Kolkata 2015
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Pune: Day 5

At each of our distributions in Pune, the children have arrived accompanied usually by a parent and sometimes a grandparent.  Yesterday we were privileged to meet and speak, through an interpreter, with a grandmother who is raising two of her grandchildren since the death of two of her adult children.

The eldest, a girl who is ten years old, lost her mother when she was only 9 months old.  Her father left her to be cared for by his mother; he remarried however did not take back his daughter.

The little grandson is now six years old and was orphaned when both of his parents died close together from sickness.  These two young children are cousins.

This grandmother supports her family, including her husband, by cleaning houses.  Her husband is unable to work as he suffers from asthma.  He frequently visits the hospital due to asthma attacks.

Because of her exceptional circumstances, both children received a bedkit.  The grandmother was so grateful for the bedkits; she said now, for the first time, the children could have separate beds.

Here are some more pictures of the children we have met so far:

Team Pune 2015
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