Greetings from our fearless leader, Linda,
First-timers Norma Fenner and Jill & Peter Adams, and
Second-timers Ron & Mary Ann King:
The Bangladesh 2006 adventure continues to unfold, leaving us all much food for thought. Two very busy days have left us tired, but have nonetheless affirmed our commitment to SCAW and all that it stands for.
On Tuesday, our Rotary hosts arranged a visit to the homes of families who had previously been given bedkits. These folks live in the slums of Dhaka, home to hundreds of thousands of families, many of whom are the working poor. Entering from a long narrow passageway, we observed our first family: three generations sharing a room about ten by twelve feet. Serving as the bedroom, living room, and dining room, the area was clean and well-organized -- every inch of wall space being used for clothes, cooking pots, and whatever else is required to maintain the group. However, these details were only noted after we had greeted the newest member of the family: the beautiful five-day-old child who lay under a netting closely watched by a very young, unsmiling mother who was no doubt apprehensive as to the purpose of our visit. The love of her family, so evident in each of their faces, would ensure that this tiny child, so lacking in material wealth, would indeed be treasured.
In each of the other seven rooms along the passageway, this scene was repeated. In the common kitchen, young women smiled for our cameras as they prepared dinner for their families. We left with no doubts about the suitability of the bedkits, as each had served the families well. The group was strangely quiet as we wove our way home through the indescribable Dhaka traffic.
Wednesday saw us starting our first distribution within Dhaka city. Children had been gathered from communities, many outside the city, to a central location. Happily, the children, for the most part, appeared healthy and well cared for. We can't say enough about the quality of the bedkits: each contained almost twenty very useful and well-made items.
Our first-time team members now have an idea of what we have all been talking about. The beautiful smiles and the shy thankyou's made their day.
Before returning home we were treated to a visit to a factory where the backpacks were made that are contained in the bedkits. The word "factory" creates a certain picture in our minds, but the reality of a factory in Bangladesh is very different. A narrow alleyway leads from a very busy street to a climb up three flights of dark, narrow stairs to the room that is the factory. In this room, lit by two lights and cooled by two windows and a single ceiling fan, two shifts of fifteen men cut, assemble, and stitch (on old treadle machines) a variety of different bags, earning about eighty Canadian dollars a month. The owner provides food for the workers, who eat, sleep, and work in the factory. The quality of the backpacks is good and only points out that they are made with care by men who strive to produce quality work.
If only we could magicly transport each of you, the donors, to share just a few moments of the Bangladesh experience. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the shy smiles, have all all meshed to provide a memorable beginning to the Bangladesh 2006 SCAW distribution.
Mary Ann King
SCAW Travelling Volunteer
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