The Comfort of a Good Night's Sleep

On August 21, 2006, CRA Waterloo staff member Grace Wood traveled to Tanzania with Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW) to distribute 6,000 bedkits to children at schools in various locations throughout the country.  The bedkit recipients were the most needy children who had been pre-selected by the school staff.  The bedkits consisted of a foam mattress, a treated mosquito net, 2 bed sheets, 1 white school shirt, 1 pair of slippers, 1 pair of pajamas, and school supplies, all stored in a large practical plastic carrying bag.

SCAW was founded in 1970 by the late Margaret and Murray Dryden (parents of hockey great, Ken Dryden).  They believed a good night's sleep was the right of every child.  Although a child may be hungry, he/she can cope better with a comfortable night's sleep.  The Drydens developed the idea of providing bedkits for children in underdeveloped countries.  The goal was to give 1 million bedkits to children by the year 2010.  As of July 2006, more than 830,000 children in 31 countries have received bedkits.

The six-member team of Canadian volunteers with SCAW traveled for approximately one hour each morning, arriving at each school between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m., where many children were already gathered.

Grace explains, "Not all the children at the schools received bedkits, and it was heartbreaking to say "no" to the few who joined the distributions of their own volition.  However, thanks to the generosity of many friends and co-workers, each team member had traveled with extra school supplies, friendship bracelets, and children's clothing, which we gave to parents, the school staff, and many of the children who were not bedkit recipients."

Grace, and the collegues who supported her are grateful to have been part of helping 6,000 Tanzanian children to experience a comfortable night's sleep.

If you wish to learn more about the work of SCAW, please visit http://www.scaw.org