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| Bedkit recipient and his mother with Gray. From Chennai 2008 Photo Album |
So many of the children for their ages were undersized from their look -- lacking adequate nutrition, in need of dental and medical attention which they could not afford, physically-challenged with deformed hands and deformed feet, barefoot - some by choice and some not owning sandals, many as we know from our visits to their humble homes with only reed mats to sleep on.
After the long patient line-up in the humid heat, the arranging of groups this day sometimes as large as twelve, the check-in at the count table to ink their thumbnail and verify their identity, and finally their move to the secure area reserved for handing out the BedKits, their young faces displayed such a gamut of emotions.
Some at first look apprehensive yet eager, the youngest at times are just a little scared, the older youngsters who grasp the procedure usually exude anticipation and a certain aura of excitement, some look excessively tired because they had to arise very early for the long trek to the bedkit site.
Once presented with their bedkit by a member of the SCAW Team, they broke out in smiles and their attempts at English to say "Thankyou," even though they only speak Tamil. Our initial greeting to put the children at ease is often "Vanakam," which means "Good Morning" or "Good Afternoon," depending on the time of day
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| Indian bedkit donor family and some of the SCAW team. From Chennai 2008 Photo Album |
It is this moment that makes all the incredible hard work and careful organization of the local Rotarians in Chennai and outlying districts so worthwhile.
It is this moment which provides the emotional elation which warms the hearts of the SCAW Overseas Volunteers and the Administrative Staff at the SCAW headquarters.
It is for this moment and the photograph of the impoverished child they helped that thousands of donors made a sacrifice in their own way to make life better for someone in great need.
Gray Cavanagh
for the SCAW 2008 Chennai Team
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