In Reply to: bras what to do with them... posted by alleylou on Tuesday, 25. August 2009 at 13:16 Bali Time:
I get them from the local second-hand shop that has a policy of not selling bras that are donated to them, but are happy to give them to me for charitable purposes. Also, I put an advert up at work. Most women have a few nice bras in the back of their lingerie drawer that they never got around to wearing.
I take all sizes. Even if a bra is too big you can bet they can re-use all the parts.
First time I tentatively offered a bag of about 25 bras to the ladies at the hotel massage tables, wondering if I would be offending. One tipped the bag out and it was like watching pirahna attack - but hilarious too! Everyone was in, grabbing them for themselves, daughters, sisters, mothers. Next day one of the ladies brought me a pineapple all beautifully peeled and cored to say thank you, and lifted her top to show me she was wearing one of the bras. She was stunned - and pleased - when I told her what a pineapple costs me in NZ!
Since then I have gathered bras and taken them to the birthing clinic and to the poorer villages in the north and east, distributing them via the workers at the hotels and my driver. I tell the women (in indonesian) that they are a gift from my women friends in NZ for the women in her village. They understand the gesture and there is no embarassment - well, maybe a few giggles over the 'saucier' styles! Over there a bra costs the equivalent of two or three days wages for some people, so the money goes on food first.
I only take bras in a condition I would wear myself, discreetly ditching the tatty ones I sometimes get given. This trip I will have about 60, but in the past I have taken up to 150! They pack tight and light and will each find the right size woman eventually.