Volunteer Rachel Davies recently organised a campaign to sponsor 100 mattress protectors for the children at the Alalay welcome centres in both La Paz and Santa Cruz, and they have now arrived safely in Bolivia.
Rachel, her mum and Alalay staff with the covers
In her own words, here’s why they are so vital: “the children (even the teenagers) still very often wet the bed because of the trauma or abuse they have suffered in their younger years. Most of them in fact wet the bed every night which as you can imagine, is embarassing for the children but it’s also pretty hard to get rid of the smell. Because resources are tight and the staff who are responsible for looking after the ex-street kids are hard-pressed time wise, often the mattresses cannot get washed but if they had wipe-clean mattress covers this would
save so much in the way of time, hygiene
and hopefully self-esteem.”
Well done Rachel and all those who have supported this campaign!
A special mention to Rachel’s family (who carried the covers in their bags) and to British Airways, who charged nothing for the excess baggage incurred in transporting them.
