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| The ‘Backpack Appeal’ team from Qatar seen with DHL staffers |
It was US national Wendy Baugh-Dobrasz, a Qatar resident for over a year, who started a ‘Backpack Appeal,’ on Doha Mums site, after seeing and verifying an appeal on Facebook.
The mission was to bring some cheer for children in Japan whose lives have been affected by the earthquakes and tsunami that hit the country in March.
Wendy’s initial expectation of 100 backpacks was soon exceeded and the plan of shipping them through the US Army base in Qatar was no longer feasible.
With the backpacks, packed into nearly 300 boxes, an appeal went out to the corporate world for assistance in getting this aid to the children it was intended for. Gulf Times had published the appeal.
In response, DHL came forward and pledged to help Wendy get the boxes to their destination.
On April 27, a team of DHL employees arrived at Wendy’s house to start loading the boxes onto pallets ready for their journey. Two truckloads and 20 pallets later the boxes were packed. First stop will be Bahrain by truck.
The boxes are to be flown from Bahrain to Hong Kong where they will be delivered to the US Base for redistribution to the children.
All transportation and customs clearance in and out of the various ports has been arranged by DHL.
“What started as a small charitable idea turned into an overwhelming supported drive and the end goal reached through the support of DHL,” Wendy, a native of Virginia, US, told Gulf Times
yesterday.
During the drive there were a number of donated items, such as clothing, food items, and soft toys that could not be sent onto Japan due to import restrictions.
These were donated to Qatar Charity, a Girl Scouts programme that gives items to displaced women in Qatar and Children at the Bangladesh Islamic Eye Hospital.
