Wool-Aid is working with the Lamia Afghan Foundation to help Afghan children living in orphanages and refugee camps in Kabul, Afghanistan. The New York Times reports that already this winter a child in a Kabul refugee camp has died from the cold. In anticipation of the harsh winter in Kabul, Wool-Aid built an inventory of warm woolen clothing and blankets, and in October, we shipped an additional 1310 items to the Lamia Afghan Foundation: 579 pounds of aid, much of it in infant and toddler sizes. Our mission is to help keep children warm, but in this situation, it may help keep children alive.

The 2000+ hats, pairs of socks, sweaters, vests, pairs of mittens, and blankets sent by Wool-Aid in 2012 to warm the children of Afghanistan are now being distributed in Kabul to children living in orphanages and refugee camps.

Wool-Aid is honored to have been able to help. A heartfelt thanks to all of those who have contributed to this effort, with special appreciation to the Lamia Afghan Foundation for transporting everything to Kabul through the Denton/USAID program.

Wool-Aid partners with F.I.R.E. (Flagstaff International Relief Effort) and the Dulaan Project to send warm woolen clothing and blankets to the children of Mongolia. In addition to sending many items to the Dulaan Project throughout the year, Wool-Aid sent a large shipment of more than 400 items in November. These items are now being distributed to children in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city, to help keep children warm as harsh winter sets in.

Winters in Ulaanbaatar are extreme: It is the coldest capital in the world! It rarely gets above freezing during the day, and temperatures are often -40° at night.

Wool-Aid has sent more warm, woolen clothing to Tibet for children who are living in desperate conditions as a result of the earthquake that struck there exactly two years ago — April 14, 2010.

We have recently received an updated report of current conditions there. It’s good to have news from Tibet, but it’s heartbreaking that many things have not changed in the two years since the earthquake struck Kyegu:

It is exactly two years since the earthquake devastated Kyegu town and Kyegu monastery.

Now, the living conditions are much the same as after the earthquake. The Tibetan people are still living in tents. The children are now attending day school – there are four tent schools in the area. The orphaned children are being educated too. The boys live at the monastery and are taught by the monks, and the girls live at the nunnery and are taught by the nuns.

A HUGE THANK-YOU to all who have made it possible to send these lovely, warm items to the children of Tibet. Every piece of warm clothing is appreciated by the children and the adults who care for them.