Total underwear collected is 895,308
Congratulations to Graeme Clowe, winner of the December lottery.
We had our biggest ever pick-up this month – 90,000 new pants and bras were picked up on 27 November by NPAC. The first are being distributed in Malawi and Zambia (Lusaka), and plans are being made for the distribution of the remainder after Christmas to destinations including Somalia, The Gambia and Zambia (Mwanya). We also managed to supply a further 1,100 new pairs of pants to Days for Girls UK for their reusable feminine hygiene kits which will be distributed to various parts of Africa.
Since May last year, we’ve been selling a small proportion of the gently worn bras we receive to a recycling company to help us raise vital funds to support our work. The recycling company (LMB) helps people in developing economies like Africa to earn an income by selling bras. This arrangement has worked very well and from this month we’ll be selling LMB up to 20%. We’ll continue to donate all new bras and at least 80% of the gently worn bras we receive directly to the people in Africa who need our help. Aside from helping to raise funds to cover our day-to-day costs, increasing the proportion we sell will give us the flexibility to manage our warehouse space. We sometimes receive a high volume of bras and this can give us challenges with our available space at the warehouse.
We end the year with 833,208 pants and bras being delivered to women and children in various parts of Africa since Smalls started in 2010. Your donations have gone to Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zanzibar. It goes without saying we’re indebted to everyone who donates underwear or money to support our work. Your kindness and generosity is hugely appreciated. With your continued support, and the support of the people we work with to make sure we get your donations to those in need, I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in 2019.
Thank you all for making 2018 a pantastic year. I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year.
Maria