Belgaum: 500 Bedkits in Bailhongal

From Belgaum 2011

Today is day four of the distribution. We board our van at 9:30 a.m. to make the 45-kilometer drive to Bailhongal. Typically, the road is good at the start but as we near our destination conditions deteriorate into a bumpy, pothole-filled ride. Progress is slow. No matter. We are able to experience the countryside and the small villages we pass through. We see cotton growing for the first time.

By 10:40 a.m. we arrive at the destination site and are greeted by a mass of people. This is a distribution of 500 bedkits so there are at least 1,000 waiting. Our welcome is always emotional and overwhelming for us. We feel the crowd's anticipation and excitement that we are there. Flowers are presented to the team.

We spend time with the parents, children, and young uniformed Cadets who are volunteering their time to assist us. These young people speak some English and want to know about Canada and ask if we like India. The distribution begins and the first children are brought forward for their pictures to be taken. All goes well and the 500^th bedkit is presented bringing our total distributed to 2,250 just over half way to the 4000.

From Belgaum 2011

Into the van and off to lunch. It is 3:50 p.m. The team is delighted to see our hosts have included french fries with our meal! When we are finished there are more handshakes and congratulations on a successful distribution. Back into the van and we are off to Hubli 95 kilometers away. We are told it will take a little over an hour to get there but two-and-a-half hours later we pull into our hotel. It is 7:30 p.m. As we are checking in, a bride, her parent, and her attendants walk through the lobby on her way to be married.

In India, every moment is a picture.

It has been a good day.

Lesley Todd
for Team Belgaum, 2011

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