Teddy Bear Project in Afghanistan

Happy New Year!

Last year, One World Projects began participating in a teddy bear distribution project in Afghanistan. For each teddy bear that we sell, another is donated to a child living in an orphanage or refugee camp in Afghanistan. Below is an update about our latest donation of bears, which were delivered this holiday season to four different Afghan orphanages by Wazhma Sadat, one of our Afghan artisan partners. What she found touched our heart, as we know it will touch yours.

When Wazhma gave teddy bears to some of the children, it was the first toy they had ever received! This is Shazia (photo on left) just after receiving her bear. Shazia's father was killed in a bomb blast two months before she was born and her mother remarried, abandoning Shazia and her two siblings as she couldn't afford to raise her first husband's children. Shazia now lives with an uncle (her father's brother) and spends most of her time at the orphanage. Her smile at receiving her first toy makes all our efforts in Afghanistan worthwhile.

The teddy bears are handmade by CWEF, a female artisan group in Afghanistan. Each is wearing a vest and matching "pakol," a traditional Afghanistan hat. If you would like to support this project, please e-mail us at sales@oneworldprojects.com and let us know how many you'd like to reserve. The next shipment of bears will be arriving in 2-3 weeks. They make a thoughtful gift for a friend, co-worker, or your own child, and we will donate a matching bear to a child in an orphanage or school in Afghanistan, who will quite possibly, like Shazia, be receiving his or her first toy ever. Price: $28.00 (For two bears, one for an Afghan child and one for you).

Thank you to all those who have been supporting this effort in Afghanistan!

Without you, we would not be putting smiles on these children's faces.

With gratitude,

The Team at One World Projects