In 2016, Wool-Aid is supporting children in several countries around the world, partnering with a wonderful group of recipient organizations who have staff and volunteers on the ground in each location, working to get our aid to the children who need it most.

Your lovingly crafted hats, socks, sweaters, vests, mittens, and blankets will be sent to help …

… children in Nepal who are living in temporary or substandard housing after the devastating earthquake earlier this year. Warm clothing is distributed to children of all ages by a monastery in Kathmandu.

… young monks in Nepal and India who have come to their monastery to study and train, often sent by their families as a way to keep them fed. The children range in age from four to sixteen. Appropriate colors for clothing for the young monks are red, maroon, brown, tan, and gold.

… children in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, through the Dulaan Project. Many of these children live in orphanages; others are homeless and living on the streets. Wool-Aid clothing is sent in a wide range of sizes to support these children and keep them warm.

… children within Syria who have been displaced by the conflict in their own country. Wool-Aid is focused on children 9 to 12 years old, sending warm woolen hats, mittens, and vests to keep them warm. Wool-Aid items for other age groups, including clothing and blankets for infants and toddlers, will also be sent for distribution. We are working with Syria Relief, which provides care and support to these vulnerable children in hopes of curbing mass migration to refugee camps outside their own country.

… children in Afghanistan who live in orphanages in and around Kabul, or in refugee camps there. Wool-Aid is sending warm woolen clothing and blankets to keep them warm. All of our focus items are needed in Afghanistan, especially for children 5 to 12 years old. We are working with the Lamia Afghan Foundation, which has airlifted millions of tons of relief aid to people in Afghanistan since 2010.

Wool-Aid items are beginning to arrive in Nepal for distribution. We have shipped 23 boxes to Nepal so far, some containing items specifically in colors for the young monks, and some in a full range of colors for distribution to needy children in remote villages and elsewhere. Not all of those boxes have been received yet — it takes a month, and sometimes much more, for our boxes to reach them. Additional boxes will be shipped to help warm the children this winter.

As new young monks are welcomed into the community, they have been given a warm hat, a sweater, and a pair of socks sent by Wool-Aid:

Heartfelt thanks for all your loving contributions for the young monks in Nepal!

Wool-Aid has established a new partnership with some very wonderful and dedicated people in Nepal!

Wool-Aid items will be sent to help a group of young monks at the Tendhar Lugar Choeling Monastery in Kathmandu, but even more of our Wool-Aid items will be shared with needy children who live in the area surrounding the monastery in Kathmandu and in other parts of Nepal.

Monks from this monastery have been very active in securing and delivering relief aid to people who have been affected by the earthquakes that first hit the area on April 25, 2015, with the young monks being very much involved in these relief efforts.

There are currently 53 young monks at the monastery, ages 5 to 15. At the Tendhar Lugar Choeling Monastery, the monks can wear mustard (gold), yellow, maroon, and brown colors. They wear sweaters and vests under their monks’ robes during the winter, and socks and hats are also much needed.

They would especially appreciate receiving blankets for older children and teenagers. Even in the summer, it is quite cold when they are sleeping outside in tents (as many have been since the earthquake, because of the continued danger of building collapse). They often sleep two to a mattress for extra warmth. During the more temperate seasons, the blankets help protect the children from mosquito and other insect bites in addition to protecting from the colder temperatures. Blankets for older children need to be larger than our typical blankets, so we are planning to send blankets that are 40″ × 60″ (or even a little bigger). That’s a lot of 10″ blanket squares!

Clothing given to children outside the monastery can be in any color, and we expect to send a wide range of sizes for them to distribute. In the weeks after the earthquake, monks from Tendhar Lugar Choeling traveled far outside the city to reach villages that had not yet received any aid.