The 44.5 Foundation clothing drive took place on November 6th in Bonaberi of Douala, Cameroon. News of the drive spread amount the community which made it a wonderful success.
The distribution exercise started later than scheduled because of the massive turnout which forced volunteers to revisit sitting arrangements, particularly for the many senior citizens who came along. Community leader Mrs. Zulay Oumarou started with a prayer and co-founder Ahmed shared a word of appreciation from the founding partners to thank everyone for showing up in such great numbers.
Grandmothers and then single mothers started going around the lane prepared by foundation volunteers to start receiving clothing for mostly their grandkids and younger kids.
About 200 families took turns picking out clothing according to needs. The attendees were delighted at the fact that the clothes had been cleaned and smelled fresh. This clearly was unprecedented in the community for anyone to hold a clothing drive. We even attracted the admiration of local city council members who came along and not only offered words of encouragement but were simply amazed at the consistency of the 44.5 Foundation in showing up monthly for the underprivileged of Douala.
It is worth noting that outside of our usual beneficiaries, people came from across the Wouri bridge to witness and hopefully benefit from the largess of our donors. Water and soft drinks were distributed to the attendees as it was a hot day. There were smiles on many faces because the clothes were of very good quality. Many parents made testimonials saying this was indeed a fantastic idea because the clothing drive addresses an immediate and fundamental need. Together with the volunteers, the mothers and grandparents thanked and offered blessings to the staff and donors of 44.5 Foundation. By the time the distribution was over, we saw people still coming over to benefit. It was unanimously accepted that this exercise was a brilliant success. Special recognition was made to the volunteers for not quitting our mission under the hot sun and praise was given to all the families that donated clothes from the United States.
You can start changing our world for the better, daily, no matter how small the action.
Nelson Mandela