A little comfort for children in Japan

I was shocked to read that according to charity Save The Children about 100,000 children have been displaced as a result of Japan's recent earthquake and tsunami.

One hundred thousand children.

A lot of those children are existing in desperate conditions. Some have lost one or both parents, siblings or extended family, they've had their homes destroyed and many are suffering anxiety and emotional trauma.

Image Source: LIFE

The priority for charity Save The Children has been to establish child friendly places where children can connect with each other and play and hopefully ward off long term emotional trauma. I know that some of us might be suffering from donation fatigue following the natural disasters in Queensland and Christchurch, but what has happened in Japan is on such a huge scale and they really need our help. You can donate to Save The Children here.

If you aren't in the position to donate money you could join us in making toys/softies. Lexi (Potty Mouth Mama) and Jac of Operation Angel have got together to organise soft toys for the children of Japan. The toys can be handmade or new. There are drop off points in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide and they will be distributed to children in Japan by Save The Children. This is such a small thing that we can do that will bring joy and comfort to a little one in need. Can you help? Click here to go to Lexi's post with all the info.

Yesterday afternoon Roxy and I headed over to Calico & Ivy in Balmain to donate a couple of Ooshkas.

It was my first visit to Calico & Ivy, but it won't be my last - it's so gorgeous there. The pitched roof has lots of skylights and the sun was streaming in on the beautiful displays of yarn and fabric with all their vibrant colours and patterns. Roxy was thrilled to see that they stock my Sweetie Petites and Ooshkas and she chose some fabric for her quilt. (That's the quilt that I have promised to make for her bed, but have no idea when I'll get around to it.)

All of this of course is in stark contrast to the haunting images and stories coming from Japan - one of my favourite countries. Please help if you can.

Update 28 March
I received the following email from Lisa Boswell over the weekend:

I was so inspired by your post yesterday about the children in Japan that my husband and I have decided to donate 50% of the proceeds from our new parenting e-book to Save the Children from now until 4/4.

I wanted to do something bigger than just a one-time donation to a charity to help the earthquake victims, but it wasn’t until your post yesterday that I really struck upon the perfect idea. You’ve truly been our inspiration.

Ben Boswell MD's book  Too Much Love, Too Much Discipline: The Perfect Mix for Changing Your Defiant Child’s Behavior and Restoring Peace and Harmony to Your Life and Family, is available to purchase here. You can read more about it on Lisa's blog.

Thanks so much Lisa and Ben!
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