As any parent will tell you, kitting a child out for school does not come cheap. When the children number in the dozens the concept of hand-me-downs and the need for a good sewing machine for repairs assume vital importance, as can be well imagined.
On one of our visits to Peru, we were able to pass on a sum of money collected by the Ladies Group at Carrickfergus Baptist Church to pay for a sewing machine at New Hope. Our initial thinking was that someone could teach the children to use it, thereby giving them a skill that might potentially be a basis for employment in adult life. We’re pretty sure that has not happened (yet), but we have heard that the machine is nonetheless proving invaluable to the staff trying to keep the children presentable for school.
We discovered in early 2019 there were sufficient funds remaining in the Trust’s bank account, after meeting all the other commitments made, to cover the cost of sixty uniforms for El Amor de Dios. Not all the children are old enough to go yet, but hopefully the sum sent will cover a year or two of the rough and tumble of school life. (Well; our school days, such as we remember, were not completely sedate affairs. Not when burning energy in the playground at break, anyway.) Added to earlier supplies of pyjamas and underwear, we hope they’re well covered night and day now. For a little while, anyway…
