Navy blue socks for 1740 busy feet

As I noted yesterday, navy blue socks are on St Jude's wish list this month. Actually, navy blue socks are on St Jude's wish list EVERY month – local socks are expensive and low quality. The School provides full uniform for students, and, as I noted earlier, these uniforms are symbols of pride in the local district.

Thanks to the generosity of one supporter, the School is able to help parents keep their child's uniform in good working order by employing a Sewing Lady to attend to daily repairs. In December, I told the story of how St Jude's came to have a Sewing Lady.

Today, thanks to Bill Pavey, who keeps me up to date with the Parkwood Rotary Club activities that support the school, I can share the story of John Tunnicliff, who has responded to the call for socks by packing his bags with bundles and bundles of navy blue socks.

John Tunnicliff, Gemma Sisia, students and socks!

John is the International Service Director at Parkwood Rotary Club, and he has been a great supporter of the School of St Jude from the early years. So, when he was planning a trip to visit the School this year, it was only natural that he stuffed his luggage with as many navy blue socks as he could.

It doesn't sound like much, does it? A few dozen pairs of socks for a country where one in five children die before the age of five. But this is just a small indicator of the great care and generosity of spirit of people like John Tunnicliff, who actively support powerful on-the-ground projects that are making a huge difference to individual lives, and to the future of one of the poorest countries in the world.

Hundreds of visitors go to St Jude's every year, and all of them carry something in their luggage. This is material support that speaks what is in their hearts – great loving care for people who struggle to give their children opportunity and prosperity.

We have so much. In this affluent country, we have so much.

To get your material goods circulating through the world, you can click on the ChipIn button at the top of this blog and send a few dollars to the School of St Jude. You can stick 'Rentabook' labels in your paperbacks so they can earn dollars for the best development project in Africa – the School of St Jude. Download them here.



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Watch the orange bar

Hey! It's nice to see the Chipin donation tool at work! Thanks Rob for starting it off, and you too Bill, for adding your bit. I'm curious to see how this progresses.



A growing project like St Judes relies on a solid foundation of sponsors and donors who can give hundreds of dollars. Major fundraising events like the 3peaks3weeks climb raised $100,000 for the school. It took 10 women more than a year to reach this target through lots of local events.

St Judes also appreciates the small amounts that can really add up. If you want to give just a little to the school as a one-off or an occasional donation, you can do it here.

And if you are hesitant to send money, they have an urgent need for plain navy socks!




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Not shoes but socks

The School of St Jude gets as many things as possible from the local area in Northern Tanzania. For example, the school uniforms that are provided for all students are made locally.

However, there are a few essential items that are just not available in Tanzania, and durable navy blue socks are one of those essentials.


The School supplies each child with two pairs of navy blue socks as part of their uniform, and stocks are running low! In January, the School accepted an additional 187 students who needed new socks. And of course the 700 kids already in the school need replacements.

In the past, all the hundreds of pairs of socks provided by the School have been brought in by visitors from abroad.

If you think you could buy a few pairs of ankle or knee length PLAIN NAVY socks for kids between 7 and 13 yrs old then the School would be so grateful! OR, if you know anyone who works for a sock distributor, the School would be happy to buy some socks.

To send a batch of socks to the School, send them an email and they will put you in touch with someone who is planning to visit.

Check out the School’s wishlist to see the range of items that are hard to source locally.