SCAW Live Reports Blog

Spiti Valley: Old beds out

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:51:00 +0000

Yesterday, after watching the Dalai Lama arrive in Kaza we went back to the school and met with Tashi Lama and Chering Dorje to discuss next steps.

Then they took us to look at the beds the children are now using. It was evident that they needed new ones and after we took some pictures the old ones were collected and moved out. It is a long job and will probably take the next two days. Then the rooms will be cleaned and the children's new beds and mattresses will be installed.

As we said in an earlier report, we hope to start the distributions and photo taking on Sunday.

The Spiti Valley Three

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Spiti Valley: We have arrived

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:42:00 +0000

Yesterday afternoon we arrived at Munsel-Ling School in Spiti Valley. We had a meeting with the school principal, Chering Dorje, to finalize plans for our visit and the distribution.
lean the dormitory rooms, and move in new beds and bedding. We hope to complete th
There was a lot of excitement at the school today. The whole school is going to Kaza to welcome the Dalai Lama to the area. He will be giving teachings at the Sakya Monastery there. Many of the children will be going with their parents so they will not be at school for the next few days.

During the time the children are gone, we will be helping to remove the old beds and bedding, cis by Sunday when the children return.

That is when we plan to start the distribution and taking of bedkit photos.

The Spiti Valley Three

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Spiti Valley: The Distribution

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:16:00 +0000

When our friends heard from us that we were going on this distribution, many asked how they could contribute a bedkit for Spiti Valley. We had to tell them it wasn't possible. First of all, this is not a regular distribution -- it is a one-time special distribution to help us celebrate 2009, the Year of the Millionth Bedkit. Secondly, the unit cost of supplying a complete bed and bedding for a child at Munsel Ling School is more than the cost of a regular $35 bedkit. And third, in order to fund this special distribution, Sleeping Children is using money from a bequest given to us by the estate of Mary Verna Simmons which, along with money given by TRAS donors, will pay for the entire cost of the beds and bedding.

The same as all travelling volunteers, the Spiti Valley Three are travelling at our own expense and without benefit of a tax receipt. We will supervise the distribution of bedkits, photograph the children with their bedkits, and write articles for the donor newsletter to be published on the SCAW website.

Yesterday, we met Lama Tashi again, who has been organizing the delivery of the beds from Delhi and of India to the Spiti Valley. He will accompany us and has arranged this part of our trip.

Our travel to Spiti Valley was done in three stages. The first stage was the fourteen-hour flight from Toronto to Delhi. The second stage was a fourteen-hour drive from Delhi to Manali. The final stage is today: an estimated eight- to ten-hour drive to the Kaza area of the Spiti Valley and the Munsel Ling School in Rangrik.

The Spiti Valley Three

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Spiti Valley: On to Spiti Valley

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:18:00 +0000

We are still in Manali and have been joined by Lama Tashi Namgyal who is telling us more about the school and the children we are going to provide with beds. The Rinchen Zangpo Buddhist Society decided twelve years ago that improving education was paramount. Munsel Ling School was named and opened by the Dalai Lama in 1996 and has a dedicated staff of twenty four teachers.

In the summer of 2008 when the UBC students wrote about the school they said, "The children are hard-working and determined. They take responsibiltiy for succeeding, unlike many children in Canada." Indeed, the students from the first year have now graduated. One of them, Youdon, is studying science and wants to become a doctor and return to work in Spiti.

The UBC team also noted that the sleeping quarters for the children boarding at the school were borderline. They wrote: "The beds that are not in good condition, and bedbugs and lice are rampant." The Trans Himalayan Aid Society [TRAS] decided that it was necessary to provide clean bedding for all the children in 2009 and they applied to Sleeping Children for help. TRAS has been helping in Nepal, Tibet, and India. One of their members had met Murray when he had helped Tibetan refugee children in another part of the Himalayas.

Lama Tashi has been busy arranging the materials for the beds and getting them to Spiti Valley so they will be there when we arrive.

Tomorrow we leave for Kaza in the Spiti Valley. (Click on map to enlarge it.

The Spiti Valley Three

Spiti Valley: Manali Rest Stop

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:16:00 +0000

We have not yet reached the Spiti Valley but are staying in Manali to acclimatize our bodies to the higher altitudes in the Himalayas. From our bedroom windows we can see one more range of mountains we have to pass over. We are staying in a guest house run by a wonderful family. When Murray Dryden went on his Himalaya trip he had less luxurious quarters.

From his writings:

A fine red nylon tent was set up; it was to be my home for nine nights. The cook promised me a feast and, indeed, I was ready for it. After that last leg up "Heartbreak Mountain" my 07:30 continental breakfast had long gone. When my feast arrived, the rice was cold but I ate it. However, the bits and pieces purported to be chicken were laced with spices so I had to pass them on to one of the porters. I did enjoy the bowl of soup with chopped onion tops though, and canned pineapple slices, the juice of which I had sipped from the punctured tin at the last rest stop. As to the food the rest of the way, it was grim.

We should probably feel guilty (since we are doing this trip in memory of Murray's visit to the Himalayas) but our supper tonight is to be fresh trout, baked potatoes, and vegetables followed by plum or peach pie (in season).

The Spiti Valley Three

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Spiti Valley: About the school

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:13:00 +0000

We are going to Rangrik in the Spiti Valley and providing beds for children that go to the Munsel Ling School there.

Since 1962 when a large number of Tibetan refugees entered the Himalyan area of India, the Trans Himalayan Aid Society [TRAS] has been raising funds to help nurture children in need. Their mission is to support the health and education of children in this area. Children at the school were mostly born in India in Tibetan refugee families. Some children are still coming to the Spiti Valley from Tibet, but it can compromise the safety of their families left behind so not many come to India any more.

Sleeping Children is only one of several groups that are helping the children at the school. Since 2007 teams of students from the University of British Columbia [UBC] Global Heath Initiative have been working to evaluate the children's health and educate them on living healthy.

We are presently on the way to Manali with our driver Jeetu.

The Spiti Valley Three

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Spiti Valley: A Memorable Trip

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:25:00 +0000

In 1981, Murray Dryden, founder of Sleeping Children Around the World, made a ten-day trip into the Himalayas to deliver 1,000 beds (approximately 10 tons) to four remote villages never before serviced by SCAW.

He said, "It was an adventure I will not soon forget."

This year, our team will deliver 380 beds to one remote village in the Himalayas. Murray's trip required twenty-six porters who carried the beds up into the mountains two weeks before Murray and his group arrived. The beds for the Spiti Valley distribution were delivered by truck early in June -- just after the roads re-opened for the summer -- to the remote village of Rangrik where the Munsel-Ling school is situated.

We will not be arriving there until the middle of next week since the village is at an altitude of more than three thousand metres and we stop for two days in the village of Manali (at eighteen hundred metres) in order to acclimatize our bodies to the altitude.

From Murray's report of his trip:

We had three porters, a guide, and a cook and we stopped for five minutes every thirty minutes. The cook was anxious to ply me with tea.

After sailing along for four hours, word came to halt for light refreshments. I was to know later that this was the notice of a formidable "enemy" lying ahead. At 16:30 we were given the order to "attack." It was up, up, up on narrow and slippery trails, and it was getting darker. Earlier, our trip routing had been changed from a 3-hour to a 6-hour objective. I sensed that the game was to kill me off early. My confidence was indeed gradually being shot down -- I was even thinking of the possibility of an air lift! The thought of nine more days of this torture almost made me sick.

At least we don't have to walk.

The Spiti Valley Three

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Spiti Valley: A Special Distribution

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:46:00 +0000

Going to the Munsel-Ling School in Rangrik in the Spiti Valley of the Himalaya Mountains, in Northern India.

The Spiti Valley Three: (Left to right) Milton van der Veen, Laura Harper, Clarence Deyoung (Team Leader)

A special distribution to celebrate the Year of the Millionth Bedkit and commemorate SCAW founder Murray Dryden’s trip to the Himalayas in the 1980s is about to take place. The SCAW travelling team met at SCAW headquarters on Thursday and leaves Toronto on Friday evening, July 3^rd.

Team members Laura Harper, Milton van der Veen, and Clarence Deyoung are honoured to have been chosen to represent Sleeping Children on this memorable occasion. This special distribution is being made possible by an estate donation to be used for bedkits. Keep an eye on these live reports as we try to keep you abreast of the details of this special distribution.

The Spiti Valley Three

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Spiti Valley: Leave Your Comments Here

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:46:00 +0000

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As a courtesy, please include your name at the end of your comment or click on "Select profile ,,," and fill in your name by selecting "Name/URL" there.

Uganda: 6,000 Bedkits delivered

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:17:00 +0000

6,000 bedkits delivered!!!

We're back from the hills of western Uganda where 6,000 children are now sleeping under mosquito nets, getting healthy and ready for a new day of learning.

We had many, many moments of joy with the children and the communities with which we were working. These photos show some of our experiences from the past week.

Debbie Will-Dryden for the Uganda team

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Uganda: The survey

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:15:00 +0000

From Uganda 2009 Photo Album

We went to two locations today, each with five hundred bedkits: the towns of Rukiga and Kabale. The day began with a group of village women dancing, singing, clapping, and drumming to show us their appreciation.

Under the hot sun, in a pasture field, I lead the children in fun actions to keep them occupied until the distribution started.

Surveys are a very important part of distributions in order to provide the most useful bedkit for the designated area. When a local translator was available, two of us started the surveys. We asked the questions to father, mothers, grandparents, boys and girls like:

What do you like best in the bedkit?
What was the most useful / least useful item?
Do you have a mosquito net at home already?
What colour do you prefer the net to be?
What might they suggest be added to the bedkit?
How long do they hope their child will go to school?

Shirley Aerts for the Uganda team

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Uganda: Slideshow 1

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:13:00 +0000

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Uganda: Rukungiri

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:37:00 +0000

Click link below to see more photos.
From Uganda 2009 Photo Album

Dear Donors,

There are moments when the gratitude I feel for your wonderful generosity to all these special children overwhelms me. Because of you I have heard the voices and clapping of five hundred little angels as they welcomed us in anticipation of receiving your most generous gift: ‘Their bedkit.’

Because of you I have seen the happiest of smiles — smiles that could melt an iceberg.

Because of you I had the absolute pleasure of giving your gift to the children yesterday ... as I handed it to a beautiful young girl I said “This is for Special you from someone in Canada who loves you.” Her eyes met mine, she touched my hand and said “Please tell them I love them too.” They all do!

Our sincerest "Thank you," for caring so much for these beautiful children who have so little but act as though they have so much.

Together we will have given six thousand children in Uganda hope.

Annette Arnold for the Uganda team

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Uganda: Upcountry in Mityana

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:59:00 +0000



From Uganda 2009 Photo Album

We left our Kampala accommodations at 7:30 in the morning knowing that it was going to be seven nights on the bumpy roads of rural Uganda.

Our first stop was Mityana, a rural area in the hills west of Uganda. We arrived to five hundred children lined up outside their government-sponsored school.

We explained to the children the gift that they were about to receive from their donor. The cheers of the children as we showed them the bedkits items was truly heart-warming.

Then our team got into action, ensuring that we kept our promise to the donors of the bedkits.

The photos show our team with the children - Ruth and Annette handing out the bedkits, Shirley ensuring with Sieg that our accounts and labels were correct, and Greg greeting the children and getting them ready for the photos.

To see all the photos, go to the Uganda 2009 Photo Album.

Debbie Will-Dryden for the Uganda team

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Uganda: Going Upcountry

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:42:00 +0000

From Uganda 2009 Photo Album

Short message from the 2009 Uganda team:

Today we leave to go upcountry for seven nights. Hopefully we will have access to the computer. Keep your fingers crossed!

... we also received more photos from yesterday's distribution, including the tire rim school bell pictured at right. To see them all go to the Uganda 2009 Photo Album.

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Uganda: Second distribution

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:57:00 +0000



Click photos to see larger versions. From Uganda 2009 Photo Album

Today we went outside of Kampala to distribute 500 bedkits.

We started the day with overcast weather, then it got hot, then windy, then rainy, and finally we ended a wonderful distribution with sunshine.

After the distribution, we ate lunch at the site. Today's site was a government-sponsored school, with children from form one to form seven. The classrooms were bare of educational materials with the exception of a few student exercise and writing books.

We saw the children playing outside, skipping and playing soccer, just like our students do at home. The only difference is that these children were skipping with pieces of twine knotted together and their soccer ball was an empty plastic water bottle.

We could see from the signs posted around the school that the education of these children is all-encompassing.

Today's photos show some of our bedkit recipients with the school signs in the background.

A tire rim is rung like a bell at the end of class.

Debbie Will-Dryden for the Uganda team

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Uganda: First distribution

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:08:00 +0000



From Uganda 2009 Photo Album

Today our team of six Sleeping Children Canadians and twelve Inner Wheel of Kampala members traveled to Wakiso district, just over an hour outside of the city limits.

We saw many beautiful sights along the way. We saw bouncing billy goats, markets filled with painstakingly arranged pyramids of tomatoes and mangoes, traffic jams and bikes, and bumpy red clay roads.

But the best sight of the day was the five hundred children waving celebratory flags, greeting us as we arrived at the distribution site. This is what we've chosen to send as today's pictures: the smiling faces of the children who received your bedkits!

Debbie Will-Dryden for the Uganda team

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Togo: The distribution is complete

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:00:00 +0000

From Togo Photo Album 2009

Mida akpé na SCAW bé amédodowo bena wova na kado dévi 4,000 lé Togo.

Mawu na yra mi katan.

Akpé na Mawu béna dévi 4,000 ho nunana siawo.

Mi kpa eye Muwu na yra mi.

From Dosseh and SCAW Team Togo

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Uganda: Preparing for a distribution

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Tue, 26 May 2009 03:30:00 +0000

From Uganda 2009 Photo Album

Monday we went to see where the bedkits items were made and the bedkits stored.

We had our pre-distribution meeting tonight here at our guest house with the Inner Wheel of Kampala and our team of SCAW volunteers.

Our first distribution starts tomorrow. We all helped load the bedkits on the truck for the trip to the distribution site on Tuesday.

Debbie Will-Dryden for the Uganda team

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Togo: Nos volontaires Togolaise

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:43:00 +0000

Notre équipe SCAW bénéficie des talents exceptionnels de nos volontaires Togolais. Une vingtaine de personnes fortes nous aide avec des tâches variées ce qui fait possible nos distributions.

Les volontaires arrivent sur le site de distribution à cinq heures du matin. Ils accueillent les enfants qui arrivent à cinq heure et demie. Ils habillent les enfants dans leurs nouveaux ensembles. Imaginez-vous la joie et le bruit de ces six cents élèves!

Les volontaires doivent aussi sécuriser le site. Nous voyons souvent que les volontaires ont déménagé des pupitres doubles pour faire une barrière pour séparer les parents des activités de distribution.

Les volontaires supervisent les enfants pendant toutes les étapes d’une distribution jusqu'à ce que chaque enfant soit livré à son parent.

Quel niveau exceptionnel de service donnent ces volontaires aux enfants du Togo!

Leslie Banner et l’équipe de Togo

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Our SCAW team benefits from the exceptional talents of our Togolese
volunteers. A group of twenty dependable people help us with the
various tasks necessary for a distribution.

They arrive at the distribution site at five in the morning. They
organize the children who arrive at five thirty. They help the
children get dressed up in their new outfits. Imagine the joy and the
noise of six hundred children.

They also look after securing the site. Often they'll move desks to
provide a barrier between our distribution activities and the waiting
parents.

They supervise the children during every stage of a distribution, from
the time they arrive till they are back with their parents.

An exceptional level of service is given by these volunteers to the
children of Togo!

Uganda: The team has arrived.

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:01:00 +0000

From Uganda 2009 Photo Album

The team left Toronto airport Friday evening and arrived in Uganda today.

Top picture shows the Uganda 2009 SCAW team in Toronto: (Left to Right) Greg O’Neill, Ruth Sealy, Debbie Will-Dryden & Sieg Will (Team Leaders), Shirley Aerts, Annette Arnold.

Bottom photo shows them being greeted at the airport in Entebbe.

Debbie attached a note:

"We are at our guest house getting settled. Tomorrow we are checking out the manufacturing facilities and helping to load the trucks with the bedkits."

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Togo: Two more distributions completed

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:56:00 +0000

From Togo Photo Album 2009

At the end of each of the last two distributions, the SCAW Team visited the home of the one of the recipients.

It was made very obvious to us why SCAW has brought us to Togo. We saw homes that were single-room, mud-walled houses. These houses were stifling hot and dark. There was a simple entrance door and no windows for ventilation. The six Canadians found it difficult to believe that a family of as many as eight individuals could live in conditions such as these.

We were greeted by the parents and the children with smiles of gratitude and thanks. The mattress that is part of the bedkit will provide the children in these homes with the opportunity to sleep in a proper bed for the first time in their lives.

We were struck by the fact that these homes did not have safe drinking water. A large cistern collects rainwater which quickly becomes rancid.

It reminded us of our good fortune to live in Canada.

Kathy et l'équipe Togo

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Uganda: Leave your comments here

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Sun, 24 May 2009 07:08:00 +0000

Togo: Garnice's Dream

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:18:00 +0000

The Ware Sisters
From Togo Photo Album 2009

It had always been Garnice Ware's dream to participate in a SCAW distribution. We, Judy, Kathy and Linda (In the photo at right) have the privilege to be in Togo with SCAW today.

The welcome from the beautiful children, their families, teachers, and community leaders has been overwhelming.

The opporunity to share a day in their community has given us an invaluable insight into their life. However poor to our western eyes, they celebrate life with song and dance.

Our mother knew this unique travel experience would be both memorable and benefical.

Linda and the Togo Team

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Togo: Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (SCAW Webmaster) — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:27:00 +0000

From Togo Photo Album 2009

Today we distributed at a beautiful rural school setting north of Lome. We met a community of gentle caregivers who welcomed us to their local school. It was an exceptional day.

It was our privilege to interview two student recipients, two mothers, one teacher, and one father. Kathy Ware expertly led the conversation with these people that gave us a better insight into those things in the bedkit that were valued most. We also gained a precious insight into those bedkit items that may even have greater meaning for them in the future.

This process was facilitated by Segnon, a young Togolese volunteer who made it possible for us to understand the interests of our recipients. This is a process that excites our team as we watch the empowerment of our recipients.

Our donors should share in this feeling of success in the knowledge that each one of their dollars is being spent in the most effective manner.

Cynthia Harris and the Togo Team

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