DURBAN businesswoman, Alice Leah, was attending a VIP children’s day at the Durban Exhibition Centre for 41 children’s homes earlier this year, when she noticed that most of the teenage girls were not wearing bras.
Without thinking to ask why, Alice did what she always does, and turned to social media for help.
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Calling on her circle of family, friends and business associates, she urged everyone to collect and donate their gently used bras for the cause and hashtagged it #bringthebras. It wasn’t long before she was flooded with requests by businesses to be drop-off points for the bras – even as far as Pretoria and Joburg.
The campaign has not been without its challenges.
Shortly after she embarked on her crusade, she was chastised for wanting to inflict bras on girls who may not want to wear them, or who for cultural reasons would not wear them as it would cast doubt on their purity if they did.
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After some research, she discovered that the no-bra custom is still very strong in the rural areas, but that generally the cities have abandoned this thinking.
With #bringthebras in its final few weeks, Alice is hoping to have amassed enough bras to be able to donate at least five to each teenage girl at the 41 homes in and around Durban, as well as contribute to The Robin Hood Foundation’s “Mahala Market” in November.
If you would like to assist Alice by donating bras or helping to get them to where they need to go, email alice@thealist.co.za.
