Most women in New Zealand don’t give a second thought when they put on their bra but for some females in Aotearoa and in the Pacific, it’s a gift to own a bra.
In 2012 Christchurch women Pauline Wilson started Project Uplift collecting underwear for others. The project built on Inner Wheel Operation Uplift which started in 2005 collecting bras for women in Fiji.
When Carolyn Bentley from Ashburton bought her ticket to this year’s International Women’s Day Zonta breakfast in Ashburton she noticed on the ticket mention of Project Uplift.
Curious to find out more the about the organisation said she went to their website and discovered there was no individual in Mid Canterbury collecting them.
She took on the role.
Project Uplift collects bras, including crop tops, maternity, surgical and mastectomy bras, underwear preferably new, but items in excellent condition are also acceptable along with children’s underwear.
The donated goods which number in the thousands go women in the Pacific Islands – Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Samoa.
New Zealand women and girls have also received items from the project through health and community groups and high schools in disadvantaged areas.
In many regions of the world, a new bra, if available at all, can cost 10-30 hours wages and not having a bra can limit job opportunities.
While Bentley has only been collecting the items for a few weeks she said she was thrilled with the number of items that have already come in.
‘‘Women and girls appreciate having a bra for work, school and social situations. Bras received through the project are often the only bra the female owns’’, she said.
The collection of bras not only provides support and dignity to the for the wearer, but they help prevent rashes and fungal infections in the humid Pacific climate.
The items collected here go to Christchurch where they are sorted and packed before being sent overseas via contacts and passed on to New Zealand.
As well as overseas, the project has supplied bras to organisations including Auckland City Mission, Auckland Women’s Prison, Auckland Refugee Centre, cyclone victims, high schools in disadvantaged areas the Middlemore Foundation and Pregnancy Help.
- – Donated goods can be left at Sparrows in East St in Ashburton, Trio Boutique at 5 Talbot St in Geraldine or go to www.projectuplift.org.nz/contactdrop-off-points/
