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Chris Hills stands with three
school-aged girls in Bangladesh during his mission with SCAW
to provide
bedkits to underprivileged children.
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Seaforth residents Chris and
Gail Hills have completed another mission with an organization that helps
distribute bed kits to impoverished children.
The couple, who have been volunteering with
Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW) for over two decades, recently
travelled to Bangladesh to oversee the distribution of bed kits to children in
that country.
Before their travels, local
business owner Dale Donaldson, president of Everspring Farms LTD., saw an
opportunity to aid the Hillses in their charitable work by offering up his
warehouse to hold a fundraiser.
On July 25, Donaldson was
host to a barbeque fundraiser that allowed for the community to come together
and learn about how their donations can be life-changing for a child in a
developing country.
Donaldson said the community
raised enough money to provide 235 bedkits.
“We had an attendance of
about 325 people to enjoy an excellent meal catered by The Rollin’ Roaster and
entertainment for the evening was provided by The Seaforth Harmony Kings,” said
Donaldson. “Also, special thanks goes to the Seaforth area businesses that
donated to the silent auction.”
According to Chris Hills,
during their 2019 Bangladesh trip the organization distributed over 8,000 bed
kits throughout 10 regions in southern Bangladesh.
At a cost of $35 per kit,
this comes to a total of over $280,000 raised from various organizations to
fund such distributions.
Thanks to the Seaforth
community and their donations, a total of $8,225 was raised for the bed-kit
distribution effort.
SCAW policy demanded that the
Hillses fund their trip, with all the money raised at the Everspring Farms barbecue going directly towards the purchase of bedkits.
Each bed kit includes a mat
or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net (if applicable), clothes
outfit, towel and school supplies.
Bed kit contents vary from
country to country depending upon local needs.
“This was a truly unique trip
for us, as we were involved from the very first discussion with Dale and
Marianne about the barbecue, meeting all the Everspring Farms employees, the
barbecue itself, being there in Boga, Bangladesh to give those needy children
their gift from Seaforth, and finally giving a summary of the project at the
Everspring Farms Christmas dinner,” said Hills.
The bed kits provided by SCAW
are much-needed services in developing nations with the group dedicated to
providing bed-kits to improve the lives of children in Third World countries.
Donaldson said they are
considering holding another fundraiser sometime in 2020.
“With the generous donation
of Everspring Farms and the support of the Seaforth community, we were able to
put together the largest single photograph ever of 235 children at Boga,” said
Hills.
