March 23, 2016
A thousand bras will be winging their way to Papua New Guinea soon, thanks to a campaign by Nanango woman Jenny Morgan.
Jenny and her husband Rod packed four big boxes into their car on Tuesday and headed off towards Toogoolawah, the first stop for the bras before they head off to Milne Bay.
The bras, which were donated by South Burnett residents over the past eight weeks, will be flown to PNG for free by Toogoolawah pilot Gary Clifford.
They will be distributed in towns and outlying Milne Bay villages by Jenny’s friend Gillian Torie.
During a trip to PNG, Jenny was surprised to learn that bras were considered “luxury items” by local women because they were either unavailable or if available, were usually imported from Asia and were too small.
“We don’t realise how lucky we are in Australia,” Jenny said.
“No woman should ever be forced to see a bra as a luxury.”
Before launching her project, Jenny checked with her PNG friends to make sure it was culturally appropriate.
Their enthusiasm quickly convinced her she was doing the right thing.
“The bras flowed in thick and fast,” Jenny said.
“Some people were absolutely incredible – like one lady in Blackbutt who donated 25 bras. Or Sasswear in Kingaroy Shoppingworld, who acted as a collection point and helped out in many other ways.”
Jenny then found she had another problem: freight costs from the South Burnett to Milne Bay threatened to derail the project.
“That’s when a friend of ours put us in touch with Gary Clifford. When he heard what we were doing he said he’d fly them for us at no charge. He was just wonderful,” she said.
“Gillian told me the ladies up in Milne Bay are so excited, they say they’ve never had anything like this happen before.”
Jenny will now start another bra drive.
“Anyone who’d like to help with the next shipment should contact me on (07) 4163-1055,” she said.
- Related article: Jenny Has An Uplifting Idea
