Saddleworth WI is appealing to members to donate underwear to support a charity

Janice Taylor, Cathy Wilde, Lesley Winrow and Pat Leeson of Saddleworth WI

Smalls for All, based in Scotland, collects and distributes underwear to help women and children in Africa and the UK.

And as part of a two pronged mission, from  now until August the WI members  are  donating  their old brassieres with an option to buy a pack of black panties. 

In Africa, the charity helps those living in orphanages, slums, international displaced persons camps and schools, as hospital patients suffering from medical conditions like obstetric fistula.

They operate from the UK and support people and charitable organisations working on projects in Africa who are able to transport and distribute the pants and bras they collect.  

Their underwear has gone to many countries in Africa, including Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda Zambia and Zanzibar.  

The discussions with the partners and distributors they regularly work with in Africa help to build greater understanding and awareness of the challenges some communities face.  

This encouraged them to establish a small education programme to support some of the poorest children in countries where Smalls for All have a presence, helping then to access education. They also help charities that focus on alleviating poverty in the UK by providing them with underwear.

Saddleworth WI have decided to coincide the collection of the Smalls for All donations with their guest speaker, Darcy Browne, on August 7 at the White Hart,, Lydgate, 7.00pm for 7.30pm. (there will be a charge of £3 for guests).  

Darcy has spent this summer helping to educate the people of the small villages in Kenya and will be talking about the work that she has done with the villagers. The underwear collected will offer the women of these countries dignity and level of safety around sexual assault.

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