Danolini Johansen collects thousands of linens at her company’s sewing workshop, to use them to make white shirts for schoolchildren in South Africa.
“We wanted to find a way to keep our children in their schools, to provide them with the clothes they need to go to… and to boost their self-esteem,” says the round-faced woman.
Since 2015, her project, Restore SA, has provided t-shirts made of old linen to nearly 100,000 children. Five shirts can be made from one double bed sheet.
Public schools in South Africa require their pupils to wear a uniform, in an attempt, albeit a simple attempt to eliminate the deep and clear inequalities between the population. to the knee.
But the poorest families cannot afford these simple clothes, and the 35% unemployment rate in South Africa has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the upscale neighborhood of Tamborskloof, Pamela Nayler runs Parker Cottage, a cliff-top hotel overlooking the ocean. His neatly arranged beds lay rows of comfortable pillows. To satisfy a demanding clientele, bed sheets should be replaced frequently.
“Our linen supplier told us about the project,” says Nayler. “We are now donating hotel sheets to turn them into T-shirts for students.”
In Bonneval, about 200 km from Tamborskloof, Lemizis Peters takes her daughter to the school, which is made up of a simple blue building and a modest garden. She is doing much better than other schools in South Africa.
Since the demands of living are so high, the distribution of shirts from the association makes a big difference, especially since no one can notice the slightest difference between these shirts and those in the stores.
“I came here to get a shirt for my daughter and I’m so lucky and so blessed,” Peters says.
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