The other day I received a message from a friend stating they were rounding up warm clothes, blankets, and hygiene products to be sent over to Ukraine. She () wanted to know if I had any of the above spare to take down to the local Ukrainian church for Friday this week.
Considering I've moved 7 times in the past 5 years, I'm not particularly well stocked on clothes, or anything really, but I had visited a second hand store recently which did seem to have a reasonable selection of clothing, with some of it looking reasonably warm.
This store is in the north of the island, and is one of another friend's (hopefully you'll see her soon on Hive, and without warm clothes!) favourite shops for bargains. She visits regularly and often purchases items for herself, friends, and family (I have a new-looking jacket ready to go which I've not worn yet), and so I thought I'd give her a reason to visit again this week.
Yesterday, she turned up with this:
A rather bulky bag containing 18 items - jackets, jumpers, and coats - large and small.
The shopkeeper asked why she was purchasing so many things, seemingly ignoring the sizes and designs, and so it was explained that they were to be shipped over to the Ukraine. The lady at the counter immediately halved the total sale price of the items.
Apparently my friend was not the first to stop by on a warm clothes mission, and the store had been busy with other people dropping items in or rounding a bag up for forward travel. This part of Mallorca is quite affluent, and as I took the clothes out of the bag earlier today to have a better look (and for some photos), I was impressed by the quality of what is there - on sale for much less than the original sale price. I couldn't find a single hole in any of the items - no rips, no frayed threads, and most items looking as good as new.
As mentioned, some of the clothes are rather small, and a pink jacket for a toddler stood out and made me think - fuck, this is some serious bullshit. As if the last couple of years haven't been bad enough for some families, and now this. Forced to leave your home in fear of it being flattened with you inside, horrible.
This evening I'll be taking this bag to to add to her collection of things heading for Ukraine. In the grand scheme of things this is only a small contribution but I guess if there are more people willing to do the same, hopefully the impact will be a positive one.
Best wishes to those not having the best of times at present, and thank you to those helping out where they can.
Cheers,
Asher