Cool for school bags

Why we should support Ten Foundations charity which is giving hope to women and children

I’m about to embark on a very exciting and very emotional week. My (not so) little girl is starting school on Friday. Big school. For big girls. And I’m going to have to put on my big brave face and try not to cry for the next four and a half days. The first day won’t be so bad as she is only in for 50 minutes and I get to accompany her. So she gets to meet her new classmates and I get to meet their mums – not to mention the teacher, classrom assistant, principal, secretary...

We are both very excited about this as neither of us have been around many people our own age for the past 12 months.

But I can’t help feeling really emotional. I know this is completely normal but I wonder if mums this year are feeling it even more so since they have had their little ones around so much more than usual. I will miss the lazy mornings when we get to hug and play in bed, not having to rush to get ready to go anywhere. I will miss her on my daily walks when I get to rediscover all the wonders of nature through her inquisitive eyes.

I will miss having lunch together and finding ways to pass the time (colouring, crafts, tea parties, school) until dinner, bath and bed.

I’m even getting a bit emotional now as I write this. But I also count our blessings.

She is a girl and she gets to embark on her educational journey safely and happily – a journey which can last for as long or as short as SHE chooses.

This is a lot more than many little girls and young women in certain parts of the world get. So we must all be thankful and do what we can to help those who don’t have the freedom or the opportunities we have. That is why I encourage anyone who has yet to buy a new schoolbag for their little ones to check out Ten Foundations in CastleCourt, on the Lisburn Road and in The Boulevard Banbridge.

It is a charity which helps women get out of impoverished situations by providing them with the necessary skills and resources to learn how to use an industrial sewing machine – making schoolbags and lunchbags which embody love, care and hope for us.

And in return, they are able to send their children on their own educational journey– something which would have otherwise been a dead end.

So I will watch (with tears in my eyes) my little girl begin hers on Friday and I will be forever grateful that it is something I get to witness. tenfoundations.org

Girl going to school in Philippines with her Ten Foundations bag