Today, we travelled about 50 km to arrive at the
distribution in Bira, Ashoknagar. Using rural roads in India, travelling time
is double that which we might expect at home.
However, compared to the first group of children who received bedkits,
that was very little distance at all.
Those youngsters left their homes at 3:00 am in order to travel over 100
km and still arrive on time for the distribution. They lived near Sunderban, an
area close to the sanctuary to protect Bengal tigers which are in danger of
extinction in India.
Our Overseas Partners once again made sure that all children
were fed before they prepared for the distribution, itself a fairly lengthy
process for children who are tired and perhaps a little wary of strangers.
Happy faces,
Beautiful smiles
Even watchful parents,
Made yet another memorable day for us.
Following the customary generous lunch , we had the
opportunity to visit a nearby village to see where some of the bedkit
recipients live. What a humbling
experience that was, seeing the conditions in which these children grow
up. Yet the children were so happy and
excited to meet us.
It was a community of
squatters who had moved onto some unused railway lands, starting about fifteen
years ago. They had very little, with
many families, often with seven or eight members sharing a single room. Even so we’ll never forget the little girl who had received her bedkit
this morning. When asked what her
favourite item in the kit was, her smile grew and her eyes sparkled as she
proudly displayed the lovely blue dress she was wearing.
She was absolutely beautiful!
