After reading the information about "Project Quin" to my daughters, we were all eager to go through our clothes and make a donation to the children in Quinhagak, Alaska.
"Project Quin" an effort to help children at a K-12 school in Quinhagak, Alaska, stay warm in their cold and very remote, tundra village. The children are all Alaskan natives. Although the village is rich in cultural heritage, the families lack the bare necessities to stay warm.
The bags we donated had shirts, turtlenecks, sweatshirts, sweatpants, sweaters, coats, a pair of boots, snowpants, underwear, socks, and many pairs of pants/jeans. Also had almost 60 diapers and a teddy bear that we included.
The girls and I dropped off our donation at the homeschool co-op they attended on Friday. One of the girls coordinating the drive and her mom were THRILLED with the items we brought. The mother (whose brother is the principal for the Alaskan school in Quinhagak) shared a bit more with us about the impact that the clothing will have on the children.
She said that they had sent a package of clothing they no longer wore, and as it was being opened by the principal's family, a villager came by for a visit. There was some underwear in the package. Knowing the villager had a daughter, they asked if she would want the underwear for her. The villager started crying. Her family was so poor her daughter had never had a pair of underwear. And the daughter was 10 years old.
The other thing the children and their families desperately need are toothbrushes and toothpaste. Because the village is on tundra, apparently the fecal count in the water is very high. All the water must be boiled to be sterile to drink. This process takes over an hour to do, so many of the children (and adults) simply drink pop/soda. As a result, many of the children's teeth are severely decayed.
Part of homeschooling includes community service. The girls love to help, and this was one thing they could do to make a difference.
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