SHIPMENT FEEDBACK

For the poor in the mountains of Pakistan, winters can be a harsh and dangerous time of year. “Vulnerable people from remote rural areas face great challenges accessing the necessities of life,” wrote Crossroads’ partners on this shipment. “In some of these regions, the winter season is very harsh for almost four to five months of the year. The majority of the people here have limited income. They can’t afford quality warm clothing.” Without sufficient clothing, people are left more vulnerable to illness, shorter life expectancy, and other factors that trap people in poverty.

These partners have worked for decades to come alongside these families with projects to help them battle poverty. They were so grateful and excited to receive an entire shipment of brand new, warm winter clothing from Crossroads, which not only let them equip more than 12,000 families with these valuable goods, but opened doors for them to connect with more communities for their long-term strategic projects in fields like women’s empowerment.

“As a result of the donation, 12,210 new households/families could meet their winter clothing needs.”

Crossroads’ partners with warm clothing from the shipment, ready to share with remote communities.

NGO staff traveled to remote areas to distribute the brand-new warm sweaters and other winter clothing to vulnerable communities.                                                                                                                                                                     

As well as meeting urgent immediate needs to endure the harsh winter, the clothing opened doors to communities and families not yet reached with our partners’ projects in fields like women’s empowerment.

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SHIPMENT FEEDBACK

Benin, bordered by Togo and Nigeria in West Africa, is rich in natural beauty but is one of the world’s poorest nations. Many of the country’s 11.5 million people still lack access to basic social services and are dependent upon subsistence farming.

“We have been able to open two new branches, thanks to the computers and office equipment you sent.” NGO staff

Crossroads sent a shipment of goods to help partners who empower women and youth with skills and support that will lift them out of poverty. “The problems are numerous,” they said. “Women’s illiteracy, extreme poverty, girls dropping out of school or never attending, a lack of access to IT, malnutrition and a severe lack of resources in general.”

“This donated fridge has enabled our co-op of 40 women to improve our activities in fruit juice production, increase our income and improve our working conditions.” Small businesswoman, rural Benin

Their training projects target all these problems strategically, and goods from Crossroads are helping them do it.  Examples of the impact include:

• Equipping three computer centres with computers and IT equipment. “These are a great blessing for young people and school students. Youth now have access to the internet and do research for their own knowledge or for presentations requested by their teachers.”
• Refrigerators and freezers have helped 300 young people who are starting food businesses, such as fruit juice and cake-making. “Many girls and women who had nothing now have equipment for their businesses, like refrigerators to carry out income-generating activities for the preparation of cakes, ice, fruit juices and other local drinks that can be refrigerated and sold. This gives them very encouraging returns!”
• Furniture and office goods for their own administration. “Our NGO is now very well-equipped and operates without any material difficulties,” they said.
• Distribution of new clothing, mattresses, school supplies and other desperately needed basic goods for 5,000 of the poorest of the poor in their communities

Computers from the shipment allowed our partners to open two new office branches, as well as equip three computer centres to give IT access to community youth.

Our partners’ vocational training projects in industries like fruit juice production and baking (above) help hundreds of young women find independence and able to support their families. Refrigerators and freezers from Crossroads’ shipment (some pictured below) have now helped 300 young people in starting their own fruit juice and cakemaking businesses.

NGO staff oversee the arrival of the shipment in mid-2020, ready to start unloading and distributing the goods to their various projects with women and youth.

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SHIPMENT FEEDBACK

Despite Sierra Leone’s civil war ending in the early 2000’s, the ripple effects are still felt through under-resourced health care, education and employment opportunities, especially in the rural areas. Our partners on this shipment work with local communities to address poverty through a variety of projects in job training skills, education, child abuse prevention, helping those with disabilities, and women’s empowerment. Goods from this shipment helped them not only serve thousands of people with clothing, shoes, school supplies, furniture and medical goods, but to equip their own administration offices, raising their profile significantly in the area and improving the level of service they can provide.

“Honestly, I don’t know how to start but thank you for this support. This has given me life once again. I shall forever remain grateful to you all”.  Wheelchair recipient

The shipment made an incredible impact on the community. Here are just a few examples:

• More than 300 people with disabilities received crutches, wheelchairs, clothing, shoes, bags and other items.   
• Nearly 1,000 students received new clothing, helping support with the basic needs that often prevent children from staying in school.
• Computers and furniture from Crossroads made it possible to open a new computer and ICT training centre. This centre will welcome people from surrounding communities, and also serves as a research base for students at the various universities. The centre can enrol 2,500 students in a year.

School supplies, books, school furniture, stationery and bags made a significant investment into the lives of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially girl students, who are at higher risk of dropping out of school.

For thousands who were born with disabilities, been injured or lost limbs in the war, it is very difficult to sustain themselves and their families. Medical and hospital equipment from the shipment helped hundreds of people with disabilities.

Hawa lives with a disability, and until the shipment from Crossroads, her life was filled with pain. She didn’t have a wheelchair, or any other means of getting around with dignity. “Life before this was a nightmare… I used to crawl on the floor in order to access anything that I wanted,” she told our partners. “If you see my knees, they are full of bruises, and it hurts a lot. Sometimes, when I would see what others my age could do, and I was not able to do the same, I would cry and cry. I never imagined that one day my situation would change.” Thankfully, it did change for Hawa when our partners presented her with a wheelchair from the shipment, allowing her at last to sit up straight and move herself around without pain. “Honestly, I don’t know where to start to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for this support. This has given me life once again, and I shall forever remain grateful to you all,” she said.  Crossroads is, likewise, hugely grateful to all who donated and worked towards this shipment to help hundreds of people with disabilities like Hawa find new dignity, strength and independence.

Hassan is an orphan, growing up in challenging circumstances. He walked 6 miles each day to school, and it was growing too much for the teenager. He was on the brink of deciding to quit school and make a life for himself on the streets when Crossroads’ partners met him and came alongside with encouragement and practical help. When the shipment arrived, Hassan was handed a bicycle. It was the boost he needed, and he changed his mind about dropping out of school. “When the bicycle was given to Hassan, he kept smiling and saying thank you and a big thank you to Crossroads for giving him such an opportunity,” wrote staff.  “He said he would have stopped schooling early because of the situation he was in. He said it was hurting to walk such a long distance barefooted under the sun. Now, walking long distances on a daily basis has finally come to an end.”  They also gave Hassan clothing, books and stationery for school and brand-new shoes. “He was ecstatic,” said staff. “Onlookers were all celebrating for him because they know his story and what exactly he has been going through before the shipment.” There were literally hundreds of children and youth like Hassan who received clothes, shoes, school supplies and other things that have lifted some of the burden poverty has placed on them.    

Staff speak of the impact:

“A huge number of children used to walk to school barefoot, and wear rags as clothing. These were huge barriers in our work, because we could see the needs ourselves but couldn’t act, due to a lack of the resources to do so. Now, after the shipment, children don’t walk to school barefoot anymore. They have been given clothing and shoes.”

“Children in these community schools no longer sit on the floor to write and now they have bags to put all their school materials in to go to school.

“The beneficiaries were super excited about these goods and the impact it has created in their lives.”

“This shipment has promoted our organisation to another level. It has given the organisation and its staff a new facelift. We can now feel very proud of having office furniture in our offices, office equipment like a safe, projectors, stationery and so on.”

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SHIPMENT FEEDBACK

Recent conflicts in some parts of Cameroon in recent years have not only caused devastating loss of life and trauma but have also brought essential services to a halt, like education and healthcare. Our partners on this shipment work with communities and families that have been forced to flee their homes to live in the bush, after seeing their houses burnt and their loved ones killed.

They assist these displaced families with school and vocational training opportunities and providing homes for orphaned children. Crossroads has supported this work with several shipments across the past decade, and this most recent shipment was a further investment in both urgent, short-term needs and longer-term needs, with goods like clothing, computers, school equipment, toys and recreational equipment.

“After receiving this shipment, we have seen lives changed and lives saved.” NGO Staff

Our partners estimate that 2,000 people were directly impacted by the shipment:

• They were able to re-open their vocational training school with 40 students currently enrolled, after having been closed since 2013.
• The hospital beds, computers and some other household furniture saved them many thousands of dollars.
• The community local clinic was equipped with hospital beds, office chairs and some computers from the shipment that will benefit thousands of patients.
• Goods equipped a nursery and primary school with enough tables and chairs to accommodate 1,000 students

Above: Crossroads’ volunteers loading the container in Hong Kong.

 School furniture and school supplies are restarting education for children displaced by Cameroon’s devastating conflict. Many have been orphaned, and public schools have suffered extended closures because of the violence.           

Beds and mattresses helped equip clinics and care homes

This shipment was truly strategic in restarting several projects that were suffering from a chronic lack of resources. Now, with these projects running again, they can support thousands of people displaced by the civil war.

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