 Team Reports |
Our Fifteenth Year TogetherK. B. Ghosh — Kolkata, India
This is the fifteenth year of our association with Sleeping Children Around the World. Since 1997 we have taken part in fourteen distributions and 77,000 smiling happy children have been assured of a good night’s sleep. During our interaction with the Canadian SCAW volunteers we have converted the distribution into a festival. Meeting parents at different sites has been a truly amazing experience. The 2012 distribution was conducted over a period of ten days through eleven distribution sites covering seven districts of West Bengal including Kolkata. The farthest site was 150 kilometers away at Guskara in Bardwan District. More than one hundred organizations covering Rotary Clubs, Rotaracts, Interacts, NGOs, schools, and voluntary social service organizations joined hands with Rotary Club of Dum Dum for this year’s distribution.
We organized seminars with participating organizations, vendors, and Rotary Annes to emphasize the value of this unique project . At each centre the distribution was dedicated to the great D. Murray Dryden and one great Indian in honour of their exceptional vision and commitment to humanity. The people of each area also got to know about Sleeping Children. Over the years the bedkit distribution has greatly contributed to changing the mindsets of Rotarians and the upcoming generation so they would understand the meaning of the phrase “Look beyond yourself.” The procurement process intentionally supported voluntary organizations who provide vocational training and service to women and self-help groups. While Kolkata and its neighborhood had a share of only 17% of the bedkits distributed this year, 83% went into the most underprivileged families in the rural areas. In tune with the male-female population ratio, the boy-girl ratio this year was 51.45: 48.55
At the end of the distribution, a souvenir was published capturing the history of the memorable partnership between Rotary Club of Dum Dum and Sleeping Children Around the World providing a kaleidoscope of events stretching between the years 1998 and 2012. Our Canadian volunteers helped us to know about a few Great Canadians during our farewell night. Words cannot describe the fascinating conduct of the Canadian travelling team members. Shoulder to shoulder with members and Rotary Annes of the Rotary Club of Dum Dum a natural family bonding prevailed throughout the distribution period. Long live Sleeping Children Around the World. |
