Pune: Day 5

At each of our distributions in Pune, the children have arrived accompanied usually by a parent and sometimes a grandparent.  Yesterday we were privileged to meet and speak, through an interpreter, with a grandmother who is raising two of her grandchildren since the death of two of her adult children.

The eldest, a girl who is ten years old, lost her mother when she was only 9 months old.  Her father left her to be cared for by his mother; he remarried however did not take back his daughter.

The little grandson is now six years old and was orphaned when both of his parents died close together from sickness.  These two young children are cousins.

This grandmother supports her family, including her husband, by cleaning houses.  Her husband is unable to work as he suffers from asthma.  He frequently visits the hospital due to asthma attacks.

Because of her exceptional circumstances, both children received a bedkit.  The grandmother was so grateful for the bedkits; she said now, for the first time, the children could have separate beds.

Here are some more pictures of the children we have met so far:

Team Pune 2015
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Pune: Day 4!

A 125 km ride along winding, climbing roads brought us to the site of the third distribution, Mahabaleshwar.  Local villagers gathered on balconies and along the roadway to be part of their first visit by the SCAW-Rotary team.  Climbing to an elevation of 4000 ft., all team members appreciated our skillful driver.  Terraced farming became quite evident. Many of today’s bedkit recipients’ families survive on the crops grown on these small tracts of land.  Schools are scattered throughout this rural district.

Travelling as far away as 40 kms to receive their kit was a big event.  Families arrived by truck in groups of approximately 10.  Emotions of joy and trepidation showed on the faces of both child and parent. 

Included in the 800 students today were 20 children from the P.C. Alwani School for the Mentally Challenged, named after its founder. Daily school bus transportation is provided for these “specially- abled” children, whose challenges were both and physical and developmental.

The reward in distributing the kits is not in the flowers presented to us but the sincerity of the practiced “thank-you” and the firmness of the handshake from adult and child.

Team Pune 2015

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Kolkata: Warm Greetings from Kolkata

After a full day of travel, Team Kolkata arrived in the capital city of West Bengal in India at 5:30 Saturday morning. We were greeted at the airport by members of the Rotary Club of Dum Dum, our Overseas Partners, and their wives. Adorned with fragrant garlands, we were all individually welcomed with ceremonial smoke and mantras, and the women with bindis. What a wonderful, warm greeting to start our 2015 distribution! 

Team members ( left to right): Judy Dryden, Lynn Benson Cook, Larry Kell, Anne  Kell, James Cook, Irene Harrison (team leader)

We are excited to bring joy and smiles to 5000 children over the next 2 weeks.

We have sampled not only the warmth of Indian hospitality, but are delighted to report that sunny skies are with us.  Weather reports suggest that we will enjoy temperatures in the low to mid twenties.
Looking forward to our first distribution Monday,

Team Kolkata 2015
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Pune: Day 3

Today we drove through the busy streets of Pune, population 2.5 million, at rush hour to get to our destination about an hour away from our base.  We were welcomed to the village of Kamshet by a lovely group of people who outfitted us in elaborate finery for the upcoming distribution. We women were dressed in elegant saris in bold blues, pink, orange, bronze and purple and all of us, including Dave, again sported ornate headdresses.

We went in procession to the school venue to be greeted by staff, volunteers, parents and 800 eager children awaiting the start of the bedkit distribution. It is always a treat to interact with these children as they have their photos taken, collect the bedkit and backpack and realize that it all belongs to them to take home.

Team Pune 2015

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Pune: Rest Day

Day 2 was an administrative and catch-up day for Team Pune.  We used our time to do inventory on supplies, charge batteries for cameras and computers, debrief about yesterday’s distribution and plan for tomorrow.

Upon reflection on Day 1, we thought it was important to emphasize how much of an event, the SCAW distribution is in Pune.  From the traditional welcome to the ceremonial presentation by local dignitaries right up to the day’s end when local entrepreneurs were so proud to show the team where and how the bedkits are produced, it is clear that the community awaits the arrival of SCAW with much anticipation.

Male teachers performing at the opening ceremony

some of the Rotarians in celebratory spirit

It is also clear how hard the overseas volunteers work, particularly the Rotarians, to ensure a smooth distribution; they plan for months ahead arranging for and overseeing the production of bedkits, assisting with local arrangements for our arrival, choosing distribution sites and, with the help of the local teachers and school officials, selecting the 4000 children who will receive bedkits each year.

The opening of the day was an event in itself, with children’s entertainment, a very entertaining dance performance by the male teachers, attendance and greetings extended by the district education administrators and other dignitaries, and teachers and parents doing their part to make certain the children were organized and dressed for receipt of their bedkits.  The school was closed for the afternoon to accommodate the 800 children who were brought in from far and wide by the truckloads.

The school grounds were cleared and set up in a way which helped in the organization and flow of the distribution and to attempt to keep the volunteers and the children from standing in direct sunlight for long periods of time.

Children lining up for photos

So, with that said, Team Pune called it an early night in order to rest up for Day 3, knowing that 800 children so far would also be resting more comfortably in the Pune region.

Team Pune 2015
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Pune: Our first day!

Team Pune 2015 is very pleased to report that the first SCAW distribution of the year has been completed successfully.  The six team members working alongside several local Rotarians and volunteers handed out 800 bedkits today to the same number of excited children.

After traveling through villages and on country and mountain roads, the SCAW team arrived at a schoolyard full of eagerly waiting children and parents.  We were warmly welcomed by volunteers who draped each of our heads in a traditional cloth wrap while we were entertained by a drum brand and singing and dancing children. This was a great start to our tasks at hand.

Team SCAW: Karen Morgan, Faith Clark, Karen Bridgman-Acker, Dave Morgan , Eileen Rademacher and Isabelle Parliament.

The Rotarians explained to the children and their parents what would be happening today: each child would receive and change into a new school uniform, have their photograph taken, and be provided with a ‘bedkit’ consisting of many more items: pillow, ground mat, multiple blankets, mosquito net, shoes, backpack with school supplies, underwear, socks etc. These bedkits, containing items that were mostly produced locally, were very impressive!  And they were very well received – the parents and children had learned to say “thank you” and did not hesitate to repeat it at every opportunity.

The bedkits items were packed into large eco-friendly shopping bags, made at a nearby manufacturing plant.  We were invited by the owner to tour his facility, which was quite interesting; at this location, he employs approximately 550 people, over half of whom are women, who make a large variety of “bags” from hand sized to huge industrial container size. They produced the 4000 bags which will contain the bedkits for this year’s distribution over the next week.

It was a warm and sunny day in Pune today, the children and their parents were very pleased and appreciative of the generosity of the SCAW donors, the cooperative spirit was alive and well between the overseas and Canadian volunteers; all in all a great start to the Pune 2015 distribution!

Team Pune, 2015
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Bangladesh: Final Distribution!

Day 10 Maona Bangladesh - Final Distribution Completed

Today we completed the final distribution of 300 bedkits in the small village of Maona at a local school. What joy of clapping, cheering and photo taking occurred as the final bedkit was distributed. We now know that 5000 children are now sleeping more comfortable with their bedkit items. After the distribution was complete, we had the opportunity to visit the home of a child who had received a bedkit at this year's distribution. He was a little nervous at first when we came to his home, but we noticed that the bedkit had been opened up and then securely tied together again. We asked him what was his favourite item that he had received and then after a long hesitation, he picked up the mosquito net. We really think that he liked all the items but had a difficult time selecting only one item.

The second home that we visited was the home of a child who had received a bedkit from two years ago. We were very pleased to see that the pillow, blankets and mosquito net were still in very good condition and being used daily. It gave us a great feeling that the quality of items is still an important factor in the selection of the bedsit items. 

A special thank you to all SCAW donors for making this dream come true. Murray Dryden would be very happy with the accomplishments of the SCAW team members and the Rotary Club of Dhaka our "Overseas Volunteer Partners"

As the team prepares for their departures, they will leave with many lasting memories of the 2014 Bangladesh distribution. Happy Sleeping and Dreams!

Bangladesh Team 2014
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Bangladesh: Sherpur

Another early morning and we headed for Sherpur to the northeast of Dhaka arriving at about noon. Although we have come to expect bumpy, dirt roads out in the country the highways are not too bad other than the frequent speed bumps. Today, however, we travelled on the old side of a highway being widened and reconstructed, for more than an hour. The potholes were huge and the air was dusty! When we finally got there, the venue had been changed as there were exams being written at that school so, the Rotarians had us wait in town for 45 mins as they got sorted at another school. We wandered around a little checking out a man washing his clothes at the lakeside, the wholesale market and a mother cow and her baby resting near the lake.

The distribution went well again in a very poor area where they are very needy. There was head lice in the majority of the children's heads. Many children were shoeless. One fellow had his photo taken and then hopped out of his flip flops, leaving them in place for the next one. Many wore borrowed jewelry and rusty hair clips for this special day.

The people kept converging on us, sometimes getting a little too close, looking for handouts.
We had to stop giving out our trinkets for fear of starting a stampede.

Once again, and as usual, the joy of handing out bedkits to the beautiful Bangladesh children was overwhelming!

We had lunch afterwards at the local Rotary hall before traveling about 3 hours.

Tomorrow is our last distribution and there is so much more to be done in Bangladesh!

Team Bangladesh 2014
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Bangladesh: Day 8!

We have now completed the second leg of our distributions and have delivered 4300 bedkits. Today found us in our first rural setting where not only children were in attendance but many farm animals.

We knew that the shoes in the bedkit would be greatly appreciated because many children were barefoot and their needs were apparent.

This was the first SCAW distribution at this site and the organization was fantastic. The children were well protected from the sun and the flow of distribution was efficient.

After our day was over we had a treat of fresh coconut milk from nuts cut from the tree that was climbed by a man from the village.

Now for a day of rest before we continue on to our final leg of our mission.

Team Bangladesh 2014
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Bangladesh: Khulna

Today we completed a distribution in Khulna of 980 bedkits. A distribution this large requires additional planning to facilitate the large number of children. The children arrived at the site in groups at staggered times, so that they were not waiting too long.  It also helped with crowd control. 980 kits were carried into the site on the heads of some strong young men. Without them, our job would be so difficult. We appreciated their reliability and organization.

It is always so wonderful to see the expectant faces of the children, as they arrive for perhaps one of the most exciting days of their lives. Our overseas partners ensure that the children are well taken care of. A light lunch was provided for them because they may need nourishment to sustain them through the day. They are sheltered from the sun with canopies structured on site.

Late in the afternoon, the last three little boys waited in line to get their picture taken. They could see the bedkit laid out and I could hear them chattering away about what they saw. Their smiles grew bigger and bigger as they pointed and laughed. When the photo was complete, they went and received their bedkits that were bundled in the ground cloth that was part of the kit. One of the team members noticed that one of the boys was crying and she went to investigate. He said that he really wanted the shoes. She explained that the shoes and all the other items were wrapped up in the tarp. That little barefoot boy was full of joy and excitement as he left us.

For the love of the children

Team Bangladesh 2014
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