This is the third year Dollies Making A Difference has sent dollies and colorful teddy bears with St. Monica’s Church in Santa Monica, California to their sister parish Holy Cross Parish in Dandora, Kenya. Here is a description of Dandora, Kenya, taken from the the blog St. Monica’s writes to describe their visit (  http://stmkenya.blogspot.com  )
“As a return traveler, my intent was never to take poor living conditions of the people of Dandora any less seriously than would a new visitor. Of course I knew the garbage dump – probably the most notorious of any city landmarks – was a blight on the inhabitants of this city of 300,000 plus. But it was only while browsing an outdoor crafts market nearby the site when an overpowering whiff of its putrid smell assaulted all my senses that, once again, I fully realized the curse of this display of greed, indifference, stupidity, fraud, and crime. The effects are not only immediate – truly it pervades every aspect of the lives of the population – but they are also long-term for newborns and adults alike: potential disease, higher infant mortality, and a living sign of neglect. “
                                          – Peter Heller
While we cannot “fix” the horrific conditions in Dandora, Kenya, Â Dollies Making A Difference can bring sunshine and love to children who, through no fault of their own, live in the midst of these deplorable conditions.
And so we sent with Msgr. Lloyd Torgerson and his team, a big box of our handmade dollies and colorful teddy bears.
Team member Patti Summers shares her experience distributing the dollies and colorful teddy bears:
My favorite part of the day was visiting the children in the St. James School. High fives all around, watching the pure happiness in the children’s faces when receiving the beautiful dolls, and the music, music, music! I’m sure I touched hands with over 200 children.
Thank you to Msgr. – Â NOW Dollie Ambassador – Lloyd Torgerson of St. Monica’s Church for partnering with Dollies Making A Difference! Â “To Give is to Receive”