Give them the underwear off your bottom. Well, okay, maybe we should just by new ones.
I was reading one of my favorite bloggers this morning and she mentioned a very interesting organization – Mothers Fighting For Others - and one of their programs is Underwear for Africa. From their Web site:
Our goal is to collect new, unopened packs of children’s and young adult’s underwear (ages 3-15). We will then distribute them throughout Africa.
It has been a rough year for me, with the real estate market being slow and losing Dad, but sometimes you have to keep things in perspective. I can go to my drawer and pull out clean underwear every morning, there are places that you can’t do that.
While I know this is the season of giving and we are being hit up from every angle to donate time, money, or goods, but this is one of those projects that I am going to support somehow.
If you would like to join me, send your unopened underwear to MFFO Underwear for Africa; 27943 Seco Canyon RD #533; Santa Clarita, CA 91350.
Photograph by Fons Reijsbergen and used via license of Stock.xchng.
Similar Posts:
- None Found
Toby, this is FABULOUS!! We do tend to forget how nice our lives are, even while we’re feeling stressed and burdened. We are blessed just because of where we are. This is an excellent reminder.
Thank you so much for using the power of your blog to do so much good!
On the other hand, it is very patronizing…Portraying people that you help with dignity is part of showing them respect.
I find the post completely ridiculous. Anyone familiar with Africa would agree that if your true intentions are to help people, your best bet would be to help them with something else, not underwear…at least you can do it with its money equivalent.
Toby… thanks for writing about this.
Battling Bishop, I think before you judge you should go read the information at Mothers Fighting For Others and learn a bit yourself. I think you will find your comment quite off the mark.
Hi Toby.
I just wanted to say thank you for helping our cause. I will tell you one thing, when I passed out underwear to the orphans in Kenya, they were so excited. What we consider a given is considered a gift. Even something as silly as underwear. A little inside info, the girls who were “coming of age” were the most appreciative. This is something that was necessary to them during their menstral cycle. They were truly grateful.
This is just one easy project that anyone and everyone can get involved in. This is a fun project that we can do along side our other projects, The Clean Water Project and the Gift Of Education. I thank you and applaud you in your efforts. And when I walk into the dozens of orphanages I plan to visit in April, I will be thanking you in my head as I put underwear in the hands of these children and smiles on their faces.
Best to you and yours,
Racquel Turner
Founder of MFFO
Jeff and Racquel — Thanks for stopping by . I’m not sure how soon I’ll be able to get something done, but am working on a drive and talking to a few of my friends to see what we can pull together.
I have two trips planned for Kenya next year. No worries, this is an ongoing project. Thanks again for caring enough to move to action.
I looked at it. What about it? I stand by my earlier remarks. It does not portray who you help with dignity if you help them with underwear nor it this the most efficient way of helping Africans. Feel free to correct me.
For the sake of argument, I’ll assume you’ve visited some Kenyan orphanages recently.
So, if Undwear For Africa were the only way MFFO was helping in Africa; and if my wife hadn’t witnessed firsthand, face-to-face, the joy and hope in the faces of many “coming of age” young women as she handed them brand new pairs of underwear, I might be somewhat inclined to agree with you. But since it’s not and I have, we’ll have to agree to disagree.
The girls who are “coming of age” were the ones most grateful for the underwear. As were those running the programs that support these girls. They could not have been more thrilled. I’m trying to understand your point of view, but the MFFO firsthand experience is in direct conflict with your third party assessment. In addition, money equivalents would not go as far, since underwear has become an overpriced, highly sought after commodity, due to the Kenyan government’s ban on selling used underwear. A five pack of underwear in Kenya costs $12, which is 940 shillings. You can buy 1 mosquito net for 2 girls for the same cost… and they did. A five pack of underwear here costs $.99.
The underwear is collected in conjunction with other projects (like clean water and eduction) and they are hand delivered to Kenya, to reduce the shipping costs and make the biggest impact.
I find a great deal of dignity in that. And I applaud anyone, like Toby, willing to do even a little to help.
Toby, I couldn’t help but think of this post and the Battling Bishop when my wife showed me this post today. http://www.nyakaschool.org/wishlist.php The third thing on their list is boys and girls underwear.