Belgaum: First Timers

This was our first distribution at Ramdurg and there were 200 happy children bringing our total to 1,500 bedkits out of 4,500.

From Belgaum 2012

Upon leaving the Hotel Eefa this morning at 8:30 a.m., I surely did not anticipate all of the pure joy we would have participating with the Rotary Club of Ramdurg in their very successful distribution of 200 bedkits to the children from the surrounding villages within a 20 km radius.

Hats off to the Rotary Club members, the Inner Wheel women, the Rotractors from the local business college, and the children of the area. The children will sleep well tonight because of your generous donations towards the ‘gifts’ that we handed out to each child.

Before leaving the community, where poverty was visible everywhere, our bus driver took us to visit a local school where his sister was a teacher. We were swamped by very eager children, some of whom had just received a bedkit from us a few hours earlier. They all wanted to speak with us and shake our hands as if we were rock stars. I am sure that they did not accomplish much school work for the rest of the day.

From Belgaum 2012

I cannot end this blog without briefly mentioning how our evening ended in Belgaum. Their Rotary members invited us to visit the only public swimming pool in Belgaum, a city of 4.5 million people. The pool was built and run by the Rotary Club and every February their club runs a swimming camp for special needs children each evening, including lessons for blind and severely challenged children, all for free. We were able to observe this directly while we were there. Our hearts were opened and tears shed as we met them and watched the joy they experienced “coming together at the pool”.We were honoured to meet three local young men who have won gold medals at national swim competitions as well as at international ones. Look out Canadians!

The firsts that we experienced today will be with us for a lifetime!

Marg Goodchild,
for The 2012 Belgaum Team

Click any photo to see more in the Belgaum 2012 Photo Album. Then click on SLIDESHOW at upper left to see them all in large size.

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