A fundraiser hosted by the Hilltop Singers at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church here on June 1 raised approximately $2,000 for Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW).
Ken Graham has been volunteering for SCAW, a charity that provides bed kits for children in developing nations, since the early ‘90s and was thrilled to see the church close to capacity for the event.
The Fergus resident said he saw SCAW’s founder Murray Dryden speak at a church event in 1989, and joining the effort has been one of the “most satisfying things I’ve ever done.”
Graham, who spoke briefly about his work before the concert at St. Andrew’s, can now attest to having visited every continent.
However the places he has visited are far from tourist hotspots. In countries such as Ecuador and Kenya, especially, he says the poverty is unfathomable.
“It’s an experience I can’t really explain because I had never seen poverty like that before,” he said. “You cannot get the full impact of what it’s really like … it’s unbelievable.”
Sometimes, it’s the most unremarkable item in the kit that garners the most gratitude. Graham recalls one particular distribution where he witnessed a mother weep tears of appreciation upon finding a ruler among the school supplies included.
“She just broke down,” he says. “She said, ‘just yesterday I was shopping and my daughter said she really needed a new ruler for school, and I counted my money and I said if I buy her the ruler today, I don’t have enough money for supper.’ It’s things like that, that almost overwhelm you.”
While the kits contain many valuable items including a mosquito net, blankets, clothes and school supplies, Graham says the act of giving is almost as important as the items themselves.
“I believe that the children knowing that somebody really cares about them and genuinely wants to help them along the way, is as much value as what’s in the kit. It’s the gesture that somebody cares,” he said.
One of the unique features of SCAW that attracted Graham to the organization was its commitment to donate 100 per cent of contributions to the children. None of the money received is used for advertising or administrative purposes. “Every cent that people give actually gets to a child – every cent.”
Sleeping Children Around the World was created by Dryden in 1970 when he decided to provide bed-kits to 50 children in India.
The concept grew and today over 1.3 million children aged six to 12 have received kits through the organization.
“Dryden said he did not want people giving because they felt guilty when they saw a picture of a poor child,” Graham says.
“He wants people to give because they love children and want that child to have a better opportunity of advancing themselves in life.”
For more information about SCAW visit www.scaw.org.
