Tuesday 3 April 2012

Swish For Kenya - Thank You!

Hey friends,

Will try and keep this quick.

I would just like to say a huge thank you to the few lovely ladies who came to my swish with great stuff to donate/swap. A big thank you to those who offered to and have donated clothes, especially baby clothes and a massive thank you to those who have donated money and those who are yet to but intend to. May God reward/bless you for your acts of kindness and selflessness.

Honestly it means a lot.

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Anywho...I will only be sending one 23kg bag over to Kenya. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances (my fault) I won't be able to send more than that to Kenya so I have arranged with my contact that it will go to an orphanage as its not enough to send to the two schools also.

However, I still have a huge suitcase and some black bags full of other items. I will therefore be sending 2 23kg bags to Nigeria by God's grace next month and donating a bag of coats to a British charity. And by His grace I would love to make "Swish For" a yearly event as I now have a better idea of how to execute it all effectively.

While I was out in Kenya I met a lovely young woman named Rahab. She had two young children and was about a year older than me. She grew quite fond of myself and my fellow volunteer Eunice. One day she came to our hostel to do Eunice's hair (near the end of our 10 week stay) and upon her departure we gave her money for the hair do and a bag of old clothes we thought she'd like. Out of nowhere she began to cry and embraced us. That was one of the highlights of my trip.

Something that may not even seem essential to us for them to have can mean so much to young women like Rahab. I know for sure I love shopping and I also have had no problem taking hand me downs when I couldn't afford otherwise. People living in poverty want to dress up too! So while it may not seem as valuable as regular food, paying for schooling etc., the love that is implied when you send someone something is immense. And I for one want to spread love.

Anywho dear friends, I shall report back once the pack has been delivered.

If anyone would like to donate more, fell free to contact me as I have a garage to store such things and I have every intention of ensuring the items arrive at the prospective destinations.

Thanks so very much for helping with this guys. Together we can #makepovertyhistory

Still smiling :)

Update - I'm off to Greece tomorrow so just want to add that I have given the bag to my friend Mariam and the gifts will reach Kenya next week!!! I'm sooo very happy so thank you so much!!

Here's a few pics of the Swish b4 and after and Steven and his family with me in Kenya back in 2010.