It all started in Pakistan. Murray Dryden, there on holiday, stumbled over a child sleeping in squalor in the street, and it triggered some unpleasant memories. His daughter Judy says that when she was old enough to understand, “Dad talked about his experiences during the Depression when he often struggled to find a place to sleep. The Pakistan experience was the impetus for him and Mum [Dryden’s wife Margaret] to develop a plan for helping children to have a more comfortable sleep.”
of the organization
her parents started to help children on
the streets. Photo: Jennifer Hartley
Murray teamed up with international partners and later went to Pune, India, where he provided 50 children in an orphanage with beds, using his own funds. Back home in Canada, when he talked about what he had done, friends jumped on board and offered to help get more bedkits to vulnerable children.
And his mission took flight. In 1970, when Murray retired, he and Margaret created the charity Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW). Fifty-five years later, it is a major success. Since 1970, 1,734,373 children in 34 countries have received a bedkit, and over $52,000,000 has been invested in local economies in developing countries.
SCAW became a family affair, and all three of the Drydens’ children—Judy, Dave, and Ken (who, by the way, are the only two brother goalies to have played against each other in the National Hockey League) — have been involved with the organisation.
Judy is still very active with SCAW
Now retired, most of her career was spent as a public health nurse. “I was a hospital nurse in Ontario, and my first public health nursing job was in 1977 in Dawson Creek. Toronto to Dawson Creek in one easy step! After Dawson Creek, I worked in Langley, Vancouver, then Victoria,” where she now calls home.
“Mum and Dad started Sleeping Children Around the World when I was away studying nursing, so it wasn’t part of my everyday life. However, as the charity became established, I heard the stories about Dad’s travels and fundraising, and the living situations of the children he saw. I participated in my first bedkit distribution when I was 55, and since then, I have been on 13 distributions to Bangladesh, India, Nicaragua, and Uganda.”
She says one of the unique features of SCAW is that 100 per cent of donations for bedkits go directly to children. “We do not use any advertising or mail campaigns. All of our supporters come to us by word of mouth.”
All operating and administrative costs are covered by an endowment fund established by her parents, overseen by one paid staff member: the executive director.
“In the 1950s, my dad bought three Christmas tree farms as a hobby. When he sold them, the money went into the legacy fund. We now hold one fundraiser a year to replenish that fund, and the house I grew up in is the SCAW headquarters — and none of the décor has changed.”
Most of her career centred on working with children and their families.
“I knew when I retired I wanted to help children in other countries, and SCAW was a natural fit. I also like being part of a team, and SCAW is all about teamwork.”
While she no longer makes the harrowing trips (“they are not for the faint of heart”), she is now working on the SCAW digital archives, “which is funny as I am new to all of this technology, but I am learning new skills and my kids help me.”
So just what’s in a bedkit? Well, that depends on the country. But everything starts with either a mat or mattress and a mosquito net. Judy explains that “some countries don’t use mattresses — they will use a mat. In some places, there are pillows; others not. In some places, a fleece jacket or blanket is included. Others, it is footwear. It is local knowledge that makes the difference and informs the kit contents. And every child receives an outfit or two.”
The Overseas Volunteer Partners source everything locally, and local manufacturers and cottage industries are used whenever possible.
Some locations include a math set. Judy says that while it may seem like an odd item to provide, without a math set in some countries, kids aren’t allowed to study, “so we make sure they have one.”
In another country, a plate, cup, and bowl are provided. “Children who go to government schools have a meal at lunch but have to provide dishes. So the bedkits are suited to each geographical location.”
One of the moving and defining features of SCAW is that it is run entirely by volunteers—on the ground in the countries, and as the bedkit distributors. By the time volunteers from Canada arrive for a bedkit distribution adventure, hours of volunteer work have been donated to create the bedkits. As mentioned, the trips are not for the faint-hearted.
The experience of participating, fully funded by the participant, “is not a touristy kind of thing. Sometimes there is 24-hour travel time to get to the destination, then you hit the ground running on bumpy roads in rough buses. You have to be comfortable sleeping under a mosquito net, in the heat, adjusting to the climate and different food.”
But Judy explains that, for many, the experience is a life-changing event. She laughs that “you don’t worry about lineups at Tims anymore.” The rewards are enormous.
“Distributions are such a joyous occasion. We organise fun activities with the children while they’re waiting to have their photo taken with the sample bedkit. (Every donor receives a picture of their child and the bedkit.) That’s one of the best parts of the day! We bring along bubbles, puppets, balls — anything else we can think of to entertain them. ‘Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ and the ‘Hokey Pokey’ translate into any language, and the kids think it’s funny to see these strange adults making fools of themselves.”
Bedkit recipients are children aged six to twelve, half girls, half boys, representative of all ethnicities and religions in the country. Additional guidelines ensure that SCAW focuses on countries with less than CAD $8,500 Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. The impact of SCAW is life-changing for the children and their families as well. They get the basics for a good night’s sleep that every child deserves. Growing brains need that sleep and rest — and thanks to SCAW, so many receive it.
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