UK Charity Commission Registration Number 1120536
 

Project Leo

Collecting items of toys, clothing and shoes for children and young adults that can be distributed to sponsored families and individuals.

Please scroll down the page to read our project updates

September 2009

Our stocks of clothes were severely depleted at the beginning of summer but have now begun to build up again ready for the winter. Our new Distribution Centre allows us to keep our stocks of clothes in clean and secure conditions, with facilities for sorting the clothes and then washing them when necessary.

If you are coming to Luxor on holiday please try and squeeze some extra clothes in your bags. They do not need to be new clothes and many charity shops offer good quality children's coats for about 50p each. Thomson Fly have been wonderful in giving us extra baggage allowances. However, they can only offer 10 kgs per booking so if there are several people holidaying together then it is more advantageous to make several separate bookings so that we can ask for 10 kgs each. We are very grateful to Thomson and our supporters for their help.

In April, due to generous donations from our supporters, were we able to distribute new gelabayyas and sandals to all our sponsored families. Since then the number of families who have sponsors has doubled but we are still able to offer new clothing to all of them again this October in celebration of the Eid festival. The gelabyyas are very pretty and as well as functional but, as we are buying in bulk, they only cost between £2.50 and £3.00 each. The sandals cost about £0.75 per pair.

Warm clothing from the UK is vital for the winter health of the children in our care, which now number more than 200; ranging from newly born up to 16 years. Winter nights are cold in Egypt and homes are totally without insulation or heating. As we have bought so many new beds, our children will not be sleeping on a cold floor but they will need coats and blankets to protect them from the cold. Although are stocks have improved, we are still in desperate need of clothes to fit children aged 6 - 12 years. Please help if you can.

March 2009

All of our winter clothing was distributed to poor families in desperate need. They were aware that the clothes came from our supporters and expressed their gratitude for your help. We now need to build up our stocks of coats and jumpers for next winter. If you have room in your case for a few items of warm clothing, particularly in the 5 - 12 year range, then it will help us enormously. We have received a donation to cover the cost of up to 300 pairs of flip-flop type sandals which will protect children's' feet but will still be in need of funds of buy school-shoes for children in September.

All of our clothing stocks will be moved to the new East Bank Distribution Centre in April 2009, until then any donations of clothing can be left at the Lantern Restaurant in Sherif el Rhoda Street. Improved conditions and improved staffing will enable us to open the new premises on a regular basis.

September 2008

Last spring, Little Stars opened a Distribution Centre in Abdul Hamid Ali el Omda Street in Luxor where items donated by supporters and locally bought stock of food items can be stored and distributed. The Centre has been highly successful and soon it will act as the Little Stars' east bank office and be open on a regular basis four days each week. From December, our Luxor Administrator will be there to accept donated items and to dispense food items and clothing to those who have proven need and whose situation deserves support. Half of these items will be moved to our new West Bank clinic which will also act as a Distribution Centre for the west bank villages.

Children are notorious for growing like weeds. No sooner do you kit them out with clothes than they shoot up an inch or two and the clothes no longer fit. You then either pass them down to a younger child or you dispose of them. Instead, can you please put them in your suitcase and bring them to Luxor with you for the children here? They can be left at our centre or we will collect them from your hotel.

While you are in Luxor, you use shampoos, conditioners, soaps, shower gels, creams and all manner of toiletries. You will probably be left with various half bottles of things that are not really worth taking home again. Can we have them? These are things that there is no money to buy after the basics of food and shelter have been found. They are of little use to you but of great use in the care of children.

Another thing that would be of great use to the children would be outgrown orthopaedic boots. These boots are very costly but again children outgrow them with speed and they are often left moulding in lofts. If you have such boots, or know of anyone who does, then please let us know and we can make arrangements to get them out to Luxor somehow.

Clothes for older children and young adults would also be appreciated. If you cannot bring any with you then consider buying some from the local shops and donating them to Little Stars. If you desire, Little Stars can tell you exactly which family, orphanage or care home the clothes were donated to.

Little Stars is in contact with a wide range of the care homes that you have never heard of. Those are the ones who have no fund raisers and no publicity and are in the most desperate need of your help.