Saturday 4 June 2011

Uganda: The End

Hurrah! Magnifico! Excellent! Wow!

The SCAW Ugandan team has finished distributing 6,000 bedkits and making 6,000 children and their families very, very, happy.

From Uganda 2011


We have delivered the bedkits in the Western part of Uganda, from a centre in Kampala called Gombe to the final centre to the west in Kisoro.

It has been a great adventure. It began in a very poor district in Uganda’s capital, and ended in the beautiful mountains in the West. The Ugandan children were absolutely lovely, beautiful dark eyes and the beautifully trusting faces.

From Uganda 2011


Our final day was as every other day: a little bit of chaos, a little bit of frustration, a lot of love - we to them, and they to us.

We met them early in the morning and they greeted us with songs which continued as we mingled with them. We joined them in the singing, we blew bubbles which some of them chased across the school yard with the grace and speed of well, an impala, and we entertained them with Arthur the Puppet. Some liked Arthur and some did not.

From Uganda 2011
Since this was our last distribution, some of us passed out Canadian flags to the children who had looked on at the proceedings all day long, hoping against hope that they might receive the bedkit.

As we headed to our last hotel, we passed many of the 500 lucky children who had their bedkits in tow, and they waved good-bye excitedly. These were the same children who had so recently shyly whispered, “Thank you,” as they received their gifts. Some we passed were many kilometres from the distribution site and they would be walking even once darkness fell.

Including the 6,000 bedkits delivered
in Uganda this year, our total is
now 1,162,130 bedkits since
Sleeping Children began in 1970.
Your gifts of these bedkits have given these children of Uganda a measure of love and hope for a brighter future. Our hope is that next year we will bring more bedkits to Uganda where the need is great.

Uganda 2011


Mary-Jo Lang and Lorna Hedger
for the Uganda 2011 SCAW Team


Post your comments here.

To see all the photos so far, click the album photo at left.