At right is the SCAW Mumbai 2007 travelling team with bedkit recipients. Team Members: Left to Right Kay Easun, Douglas Cunningham (Team Leader) Doug MacDougald, Judy Snobelen, George Foster. The 650 bedkit distribution in Belgaum, a city of 700,000, was primarily to children of farm labourers. The surrounding area is reasonably good farmland growing sugar cane and rice with goat and sheep herds interspersed.
All the kids were assembled when we arrived and were they ever excited as waves, cheers and excitement greeted us. Parents were gathered outside the grounds on the street and as we greeted them and shook hands. Their thanks for your bedkit donation was overwhelming.
The girls were very pretty in their colourful dresses and the boys "cool" in shorts and shirts. These children are just regular kids with typical boy and girl schoolyard interaction. As I was yakking to some of the boys and taking pictures of the girls with all their dress colours showing brilliant in the sunlight, the guys were good naturedly razzing me for taking too many pictures of the girls and not of them.
I just can’t believe how much a $30 donation means to these kids and their parents. It is heartwarming at the same time well heartbreaking.
Doug MacDougald,
for the SCAW 2007 Mumbai Travelling Team
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