My Kiwanis Moment:
‘I just took a liking to that family’

During Kiwanis travels to New Caledonia several years ago, I met a woman who had three little children and no husband. They were living in a concrete bunker in the side of an estuary. A cyclone had just gone through the area, and the Kiwanis Club of Nouméa was taking mattresses and other items to the family.

I just took to liking that family—we still visit them—and the boy (who was about 7 years old) and girl (who was 9 years old) took a liking to us. They were so grateful for what Kiwanis did to help them. Since then, we have kept in touch and sent them Christmas presents.

It’s a real delight to know we touched their lives and to know that maybe they’re a little better off because of what we did.—Tony Popplewell, member of the  Kiwanis Club of Takapuna, New Zealand, and past governor of the New Zealand-South Pacific District.