Unsinkable

A couple of you have asked if there is anything you can do for Rose’s care center.  This is the general piece the agency gave us.  They generally ask you to bring as much luggage as you can and pack whatever you don’t need full of donations because a lot of stuff (particularly medical supplies) can be difficult to get there or are more expensive.

Anyway, I’ll post more if we get asked to bring anything specific. 

 

Gifts / Donations

 

You may wish to bring some donations for the foster care center.  Medical donations might include:  Rubber/latex surgical gloves, surgical masks, chewable and Polyvisol drop multi-vitamins, Neosporin ointment, nipples and bottles for children, skin creams and toothbrushes.  Ask your physician or pediatrician if s/he is willing to donate these items. The donation of formula for older children is also useful, as are diapers. Both diapers and formula can be easily purchased in Addis, so if you’d like to cut down on luggage weight, purchase these in country to donate to the foster care center.

 

Other donations might include:  Age-appropriate children’s picture books, building blocks, Duplos, rattles, mobiles, coloring books and crayons for older children, etc. If you have room to take along a stroller as a donation, you could use it during your trip and leave it behind as a donation. Shoes, either new or gently used are badly needed by the children at the foster care center. Try to bring durable items that can be used by large numbers of children.  You may donate used items, but please ensure that they are clean and of good quality.  You may wish to speak with other families who have traveled for suggestions about the kinds of gifts to bring, so as not to duplicate gifts that have been given recently. 

 

Other baby care items needed for donations may include diaper pins, new nipples (in all sizes – not nuk/pacifier shaped) and bottles, high-quality disposable diapers, baby wipes, high-quality clothes (all sizes and seasons!).  All clothes should be clean, comfortable and if used, gently worn – avoid lace and other ‘dainty’ items. Bottles, such as the Playtex brand system work well; see that the nipple has only one hole so that the flow is not too fast; additional holes can be added if necessary, using a clean pin.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 19th, 2006 at 8:28 pm and is filed under hope for the future. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.