This is the second parcel to syhlet from Sydney.
Last year prior to Christmas time I sent a parcel to 
for the kids at 
.
Over the past weeks
Within each one I saw a piece of my life. The children in the slums wearing my clothes, clutching the toys my toddler sent them, or a small treat.
Their eyes shining with pride in the clothes my older child discarded.
That community has helped me so much.
I am a bit sick. I try like hell to do things I used to do and get REALLY frustrated with myself when simple things are hard. I want to do better, so my family can do better too.
Giving a new year gift to the mother's of the kids was important to me.
Holding up a mother's position in a family is so important to it's well-being, particularly during difficult times.
Mothers are the glue that holds everything together.
As SBD spiked just before New Year I was able to transfer the funds for a new sharee for each mother.
I also collected a large number of personal items over the past months from woman in my city.
I asked them to collect personal items from their homes to gift as a sisterhood initiative and as a means of cutting down on the huge amount of unnecessary STUFF we collect.
I had an amazing response.
As I said, I've been sick, and as a result have been quite isolated, socially and professionally.
Which is new for me, my mind gets itchy , I'm an extroverted type and was also accustomed to a ten km run most days to keep me sane.
Before...
I did some work for charity Before as well. Not much, but long enough and intensely involved enough, that I recall the secondary gains of giving. During that time I found that I couldn't predict who would respond and connect.
It was always a surprise.
You just don't know who will hear your words. I was pleasantly surprised to hear from some old work colleagues and school friends when I wrote about Syhlet.
Today my mother visits.
She has just registered a steemit account actually That should be interesting.
I think it was 
.
I don't know if that needs regional explanation.
A blue rinse is the blue hair dye old ladies used to use to put through their grey. They would wear it set in a beehive. It wouldn't be uncommon while sitting at a bus stop, they would make disapproving clicking noises at punks for their dreadful hair and fashion.
Dame Edna style, without the class and humour. I'll explain Edna another time perhaps.
We dyed grannies hair with 
's face paint for the intro photo. 😂
She will be good value 🙈
She comes every week to help and brings a basket of crazy with her.
Granny made most of the hats that I sent to she has also decided to cover the cost of sending this second parcel.
Some people wondered about the point of sending stuff when postage is so expensive. I understand that rationale. I sent the money for the sharee for that reason.
But do you remember how it felt as a kid to get a letter or parcel from someone?
I loved that feeling!
I got a book one year called free stuff for kids.
It had businesses and organisations in it with their snail mail contacts included. The child would send a letter and the marketing team I suppose, would send out a promo pack of stuff.
I loved getting that mail.
Imagine that same kid.
Living in a slum. Not sure if they will go to school tomorrow or to work for 12 hours. Or if their mother is okay if they do go to school or what actually became of daddy?
Lying in bed at night holding a teddy bear my kid didn't even notice I took from his pile of Stuff before the Christmas Stuff arrived.
I implore you to make contact with
Someone else doing great work here.
Ask them what they need to keep going with their work. The stuff I sent was not crucial to the school, next time it will be much more targeted.
You can magically raise the postage right here by promoting what you are doing. Raise the awareness in your local community and before you know it, your life and heart, Yes YOUR LIFE and heart, will be blessed.
Do it.
I promise steemit will be the life changer you weren't expecting.
The steemit community is currently funding a fruit programme at the school. Once a week the kids get to eat. Fresh fruit.
This is great.
But I know we can do better.
We can give 40 kids in Bangladesh a small meal every day. It is crucial they eat at school.
I will send the SBD from this post towards the start of a lunch programme.
Who else will transfer a small amount to
Any amount nothing is too small, and put a message in the transfer to the effect of -
Feed the students.
I will send one SBD now to the school account.
I hope this tiny offering starts a chain of small gifts that can change the daily existence of these children.
The world is as grim as our minds will let it be.
Sometimes you just have to decide to don the rose coloured glasses and blow out the creases in Photoshop.
Stay human. 😎
My Christmas collar has not proven to be the miracle I had hoped it would be, but it has helped with staying together when travelling.