Salisbury Soroptimists celebrate a bumper collection of useful used undies for donation to Afreebra.
If you must know: 24 black sacks and a box! The Salisbury Soroptimists would like to thank everyone who kindly donated gently used bras for AfreeBra. They are now all sorted and packed ready for transport to various African countries, where they will be given to local women who would otherwise not be able to afford such garments.
For the fifth year running, the Soroptimists of Salisbury asked women to turn out their drawers and donate gently used bras. Last year they collected over 2,300 bras, which were transported to Smalls for All in Edinburgh. This year they decided to support ZABRA: AfreeBra initiative (find out more at en-gb.facebook.com/AfreeBra).
Most of the bras go to Ghana and are then distributed by the Rural Smile Foundation (ruralsmile.org). They have a ‘Queen Mother’ system: a senior local woman is responsible for distributing bras to women in her community.
In Zambia, a charity offers a free bra to mothers as an incentive to bring their children to the book club, with the aim of increasing literacy. Some bras go to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they are distributed by church groups. Wherever they end up, your pre-loved bra is used and appreciated by another woman.
The Salisbury Soroptimists would also like to thank Five Rivers Leisure Centre for hosting the collection box and Penny, who made frequent trips there to keep the bin empty! Thanks too to all the other collecting points in various villages, supporters’ houses, and other locations. The ladies beat last year’s record by a couple of hundred. Next year they’re aiming for higher than 2,527!
For more information, visit: sigbi.org/salisbury/2022/05/09/turn-out-your-drawers-and-donate-gently-used-bras