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A Valuable GiftLaura Harper – Oakville, ON
One of my tasks on this trip was to put out a bedkit at the distribution site, and with the help of an interpreter, interview parents, eliciting from them the most useful items in the bedkit and what else might be most helpful. Sleeping Children is now promoting the LLIN (long lasting insecticide net) which is treated to last for five years. It was the first item mentioned by most of the parents as being the most welcome. The second was the mattress with its colourful removable cover. The school shirt and school supplies were also much appreciated as there was a definite interest that their children go to school. A wish list for other items included a pair of shorts or a skirt to complete a school uniform, more school supplies, a school bag and shoes. Some of the shoes we saw on the children's feet were heart-rending. It is our hope that by doing these evaluations with the parents, we can provide the best items possible. Mama Wandoa has done an amazing job in Tanzania to get the most for your $30, and with prices rising, parents are especially grateful for the help the bedkit brings. |
Team Reports
The headline in the local paper read: Inflation Nears Double Digits. This caught my eye as I waited for our morning pick-up one day. Later I read that the overall inflation rate for Tanzania had jumped from 5.9% in June to 9% in July. Both food and non-food prices had gone up. Is it any wonder that as I interviewed recipients' parents regarding the bedkits their children were receiving, they expressed such gratitude for the gifts of love from our Sleeping Children donors?