Mumbai: Farewell and Thanks to our Mumbai Overseas Volunteer Partners

(L-R) Shivakha and Apura Shah, Monika and Bill Sergeant, Sandy Riches, Rajnikant

Reshamwala, Margaret Crossling, Neelesh Suchak, Anne MacDonald, Mary-Jo Lang,

and Bipin Barot at Bipin’s country home after the Post-Distribution Meeting in

Karjat, India.

It is hard to believe that we have already handed out 2,000 bedkits and are getting ready for the second half of our distribution.

The five distributions in Dahanu, Palghar, Wada, Dombivali, and Karjat went well due to the great organisation and detailed preparations by our Overseas Volunteer Partners (OVP). There are so many aspects to each distribution that need careful planning and diligent oversight by our OVPs. Rajnikant Resham, Apurva Shaw and Neelesh Suchak have spent numerous hours working with 25 of the Rotary Clubs of the Mumbai District 3140, providing them with orientation briefings, making trips to survey the proposed distribution sites, and reviewing their plans and preparations for each distribution. They also oversaw the reception and packing of the bedkits to ensure that each one contained the proper items.

At each distribution, one or more of these key OVPs was present to assist our travelling team with setting up the bedkit for the pictures, greeting the children, showing them the bedkit items that they were about to receive, instructing the local volunteers about we needed them to do, and then extending their hospitality to us at a refreshing meal.

All of their efforts were very much appreciated by each member of the team. Without them, SCAW and its donors would not be able to reach out and help the 2,000 children in Maharashtra province, each of whom went home from the distributions with a great big smile of their face.

Dipak, Rajnikant Reshamwala, Neelesh Suchak, Bipin Barot, Bill Sergeant and Balu.

The travelling team would also like to thank Bipin Barot who organised the Karjat distribution and then hosted us and the 26 Rotarians from Mumbai at his country home to a delicious wind-up BBQ. It gave us a chance to meet many fascinating people and hear first hand about the wonderful projects that their clubs are working on, many focused on helping the children of India.

 In closing, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to our OVPs and the many Rotary volunteers in the Mumbai area.

From Bill Sergeant and the SCAW Travelling Team Mumbai 2014
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