General Question

Cupcake's avatar

Can you help offer ideas for this care package?

Asked by Cupcake (16394points) September 12th, 2013

A sign language interpreter friend of mine from the US is working in Zambia with deaf children. She is trying to start a school for them, as they are excluded from formal education and are usually victims of bullying and violence.

A 16 year old girl, who has been her student on and off for years, was raped this week. My friend went to the hospital with her and interpreted for her and consoled her.

I’d like to send a care package for both of them. Since shipping will probably be ~$50, I need ideas of thoughtful things to include that are inexpensive.

Thoughts?

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6 Answers

gambitking's avatar

Sad story, hate to hear that. I’m not sure what customs laws would restrict, but I can maybe offer some brainstorming help:

Candy, books, art supplies (markers, paper, etc), clothes, small puzzles, fashion jewelry or better yet jewelry making kits, comfy slippers, smelly-good lotions and hand sanitizers, crunchy snacks, picture frame, decorative dream catcher or other lightweight decor, diary and pens, classic board games in ‘travel’ sizes (dominoes, checkers, etc), playing cards and maybe some small educational books or kits (flashcards, geography map, etc) depending on her reading and language skills.

And you did say inexpensive, so I know for a fact that every single one of the items above can be purchased at the Dollar Tree, where everything’s a dollar !

Good luck, and my condolences to that poor girl and those enduring bullying and hate on top of the disability they cope with.

snowberry's avatar

I sent a care package years ago to some third world country, and it was intercepted. I was told that people over there watch for packages coming from “rich” countries and they open them looking for money or other valuables. If you want to be sure it gets there, you will have to pay for it, or in my case, I had a friend going to that country and they hand delivered it.

muppetish's avatar

For the teen, I would consider getting her a “Wreck This Journal”. It’s a good project that allows you to channel creative aggression into the pages. I think creative tasks would also be good to create a support system. Giving a journal to the teacher and the student to write about their experiences and how they are feeling, or a nice stationary set so that they can write to someone, could be comforting.

I also like @gambitking suggestions about games like puzzles, travel-sized games, and a deck of cards. These are items that could create a sense of community to reinforce positive relations between people, bring things back to lightheartedness.

Maybe send a book or two that might interest her students.

I also like sending handmade gifts whenever possible. A card, a letter, a sketch.

DWW25921's avatar

This may sound silly but sometimes the simple things mean the most and it’s guaranteed to bring a smile… PEZ dispensers! Seriously, give it a try. In fact, you could buy them on Ebay and have them shipped directly. Not that I do that from time to time or anything. :)

LornaLove's avatar

I have to agree with @snowberry on this one. Theft is rife there. So much thought could be put into it and then it is taken. Perhaps a private courier company?

Shoes are always important. Clothes of any sort. Nice things to eat. That should do it.

snowberry's avatar

And if it’s very hot or humid there, you’ll want to think of packing stuff that won’t be ruined by the heat or humidity. So cookies need to be fat free if it’s hot and in a sealed container if it’s humid. Sealing food would also keep out odors that would attract bugs.

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