When our friends heard from us that we were going on this distribution, many asked how they could contribute a bedkit for Spiti Valley. We had to tell them it wasn't possible. First of all, this is not a regular distribution -- it is a one-time special distribution to help us celebrate 2009, the Year of the Millionth Bedkit. Secondly, the unit cost of supplying a complete bed and bedding for a child at Munsel Ling School is more than the cost of a regular $35 bedkit. And third, in order to fund this special distribution, Sleeping Children is using money from a bequest given to us by the estate of Mary Verna Simmons which, along with money given by TRAS donors, will pay for the entire cost of the beds and bedding.
The same as all travelling volunteers, the Spiti Valley Three are travelling at our own expense and without benefit of a tax receipt. We will supervise the distribution of bedkits, photograph the children with their bedkits, and write articles for the donor newsletter to be published on the SCAW website.
Yesterday, we met Lama Tashi again, who has been organizing the delivery of the beds from Delhi and of India to the Spiti Valley. He will accompany us and has arranged this part of our trip.
Our travel to Spiti Valley was done in three stages. The first stage was the fourteen-hour flight from Toronto to Delhi. The second stage was a fourteen-hour drive from Delhi to Manali. The final stage is today: an estimated eight- to ten-hour drive to the Kaza area of the Spiti Valley and the Munsel Ling School in Rangrik.
The Spiti Valley Three
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