21 October 2010
Clothing over 2,000 children is no mean feat! It takes intense organisation and planning to be successful in this endeavour. Just imagine trying to find (or purchase) over 2,000 pairs of shoes requiring many different sizes and serving many purposes. Don’t even get us started on undergarments - of course you know that each child requires more than one pair.
The village outfitting recently was quite a sight to see. Saturday morning and hundreds of primary school children and their mothers were on top of Suubi Hill outside the multi-purpose hall - all waiting for the venue to open. Inside, senior mothers and administration personnel were busily unpacking crate upon crate of clothing and shoes provided to Watoto by external suppliers.
The process works as follows. Mothers are given a coupon sheet for all of the children in their care. Each child is assigned approximately 1 to 2 fresh pairs of shoes, 2 to 4 new ‘tops’ and 2 to 4 new ‘bottoms -jeans, skirt, dress, shorts'. Each mother brings her children into the venue, finds an area to sit and then proceeds to the second hand shoe area of the hall. Here she chooses shoes in the sizes she thinks her children require. She then brings one shoe back for each child to try on. If the shoe fits, she takes the shoe and a coupon with that child’s name on it to the supplier in the shoe area. The supplier then hands over the other shoe. The same process applies for t-shirts and jeans and so forth. Each family also brings with them a large bag that serves as their shopping basket and houses the new clothing and shoes acquired.
After every mother has received the clothes and footwear for their children, they head home. At the end of the day, the coupons are all added up and Watoto pays a set fee to our preferred suppliers for the new or second hand items each family has purchased.
Watching the children try on their new pieces, it’s obvious to see how pleased and happy they are. Pride in their new outfits is manifested as sheer delight, genuine appreciation and enjoyment as you can see from the photos.
Shopping days like this one usually happen once a year over two weekends in each of our Watoto Children's Villages and are always a highlight the children to look forward to.
Choosing the outfits
