Kolkata: 700 bedkits delivered

From Kolkata Photos 2010

Report received this afternoon by telephone from India.

The Kolkata 2010 team comprising (Left to right) Peter Adams, Shelley Duggan, Irene Harrison (Team Leader), Jill Adams, Warren Wagstaff, and Bill Weldon has arrived safely in India.

It is my first trip to India and first impressions are important. Even though our flight was delayed, we were greeted by local Rotarians and their families despite the hour. We received a hearfelt welcome from people who have been working with Sleeping Children Around the World for more than a decade.

My second first impression was the dynamism of this huge city which has half the population of Canada. It struggles with a range of challenges that would depress anyone else. On the one hand, there is terrible poverty, aging infrastructure, and families living out their lives on the streets. On the other hand there are huge construction projects, road, subways, and a huge new residential area. We soon got the feeling that Kolkata is making progress.

My third first impression was the children. We completed a distribution of 700 bedkits today. SCAW teams always talk about the children at the bedkit -- about their complete optimism in the face of profound poverty. We were fortunate to see another side of this.

Our first day was a school holiday in recognition of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. All the students dressed in their best and strolled the streets decorating statues of the goddess, even in the poorest neighbourhoods.

This showed us that India is a country of the young.

Its optimism is theirs.

Peter Adams
for Team Kolkata 2010

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