I rather suspect that sharing doesn't come naturally to children, but as parents we want to teach our young to be generous. Generous in spirit. Sal's Shoes (www.salsshoes.com) was contacted by the Embassy of Nepal in London after the first recent earthquake in Nepal regarding a supply of children's shoes that were on their list of basic necessities for those children affected by the destruction. Little feet in shoes are protected from injury and infection and therefore, when sanitation is at a very low level as it was in Nepal immediately after the first earthquake, the spread of infection. We launched an appeal on our Facebook page and collected over 2,000 pairs of shoes within 2 weeks.
Delight (www.delightcharity.org.uk), a charity local to us, then contacted us with a joint venture idea which we took to the Embassy who were very keen for us to proceed.
We approached Caterham Prep & Pre-Prep School, St John's Primary in Caterham and The Hayes in Kenley to join our child focused Heart & Sole campaign : sending Nepalese children a pair of outgrown shoes, a pre-loved cuddly toy and a letter/picture from a local child.
Without shoes these children are extremely vulnerable to infection. Shoes provide practical support. With the loss of so much these children need a little bit of comfort, which cuddling a soft toy can evoke. Something to cuddle provides emotional support. The letter from another child simply says we care.
After hearing about the campaign Box Grove in Guildford and Huntingfield Pre-School in Selsdon then approached us asking to join the appeal - 5 schools in total, working to a tight deadline (we approached schools on the 6 May and collected the 'comfort bundles' on the 22 May), collecting just under 600 comfort bundles from children in the UK for children in Nepal.
Several volunteers (and some younger siblings and their mums) aged 15-18 from Delight's Young Volunteer Program gave up a sunny, half-term morning to sort, count & pack the bundles.
Hilary Clinton said it that takes a village to raise a child, who says that village has to be the one in which that child lives?