An article published in Inside Stratford/Perth, May 7, 2007Local leaves big smiles, brings home a full heart
A Stratford veterinarian says spending more than two weeks in India distributing 7,500 bed-kits to children in the area around Mumbai (Bombay) has taught him lessons he won't soon forget.
Doug MacDougald, who, with four other Ontario volunteers, returned from India in February, told Inside Stratford/Perth, "We all know intellectually what conditions are like in places like India; we've all seen pictures, on television, in the newspapers. But in interacting with the people, and especially the kids, I feel I've come to know it emotionally. It's a very humbling experience, and the feeling of having gained a much broader perspective still hasn't faded from me."
The volunteers oversaw the distribution of bed-kits, each comprised of a sleeping mat, pillow, blanket, quilt, towel, lunch box, water bottle, rain coat, two sets of clothes, and a full complement of school supplies, on behalf of Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW). The charity was founded in 1970 by Margaret and Murray Dryden, the parents of politician and NHL goaltender Ken Dryden.
"I'm at a stage in my life where I'm looking to do different things, find different purposes," MacDougald said, "ways I can give my time and my energy." He talks about his parents' many years of involvement with SCAW, and the steady stream of photos of children receiving bed-kits their donations in his name, in his children's names, and latterly in his grandchildren's names, have brought in the mail.
His trip to India continues his family's decades-long connection with the subcontinent: his parents have always designated their bed-kit donations for children in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, in large part because his father was an RCAF officer stationed in India during the Second World War.
He went on to talk about some of the children he met. The distribution, he said, targeted children between 6 and 12 years old, and the children had been selected from area schools. Their parents, guardians, and grandparents, he said, were "auto-rickshaw drivers or construction workers, many, many of them making less than a dollar a day. They're making bricks, working in agriculture, or in textiles."
He mentioned a road crew he saw on one of the volunteers' drives through the countryside: "Even in road construction, everything is manual labour. There was a crew of men ditching beside the road, and they were digging the ditch with their hands." India has an abundance of people willing to work, he said, noting that "There is a huge demographic bulge. More than 50% of the 1.2 billion people there are under 25 years old."
And in spite of SCAW's good work, there are always more children who need a bed-kit than can be reached. MacDougald recalled one distribution at a school next to a brick yard. "There were these three little girls standing off to one side, among the bricks, watching, interested; but they didn't go to school." Because the selection of needy children had been done in partnership with local schools, kids like these simply remained invisible. But what struck MacDougald was the children's cheerfulness in the face of poverty, their "big smiles, excited play, and happiness in simple things."
SCAW's philosophy places a heavy emphasis on free-will giving and minimal administrative overhead. The organization says its financial structure and reliance on volunteers, in Canada and abroad, ensures that every penny of the $30 it takes to supply one bed-kit is spent on that bed-kit's contents.
Overseas partners take care of the actual purchase and distribution of bed-kits. In MacDougald's case, the primary partner agency was the Rotary Club of Mumbai, which co-ordinated the efforts of 55 local Rotary Clubs in the surrounding towns and villages targeted in this distribution.
Rotarians sourced all of the items in the bed-kits from domestic companies, selected local children in need of assistance, and organized distribution dates and sites. Producing the bed-kits in India cuts costs; as MacDougald put it, "You can get a lot more for $30 there." The kits also don't have to be shipped as far, and the substantial sum of donated money that pays for them stays in India.
Just as SCAW relies heavily on administrative volunteers and partner charities to keep overhead low, it doesn't subsidize the work of people like MacDougald. He paid for the trip himself; and, because SCAW's mandate excludes contributions from governments, he had to do it without a tax receipt. But that doesn't seem to stop people from signing up: "There's actually a waiting list" for SCAW's travelling volunteers program, MacDougald said. As for himself? "I've only been back for a couple of months, and I've already told them I'd be interested in going again."
You might also want to read a Commentary — May 11 which said more about Sleeping Children Around the World. We're the second item.
