help the rural child

I grew up a rural child going on holiday in rural places, and remember too well the snotty-nosed, barefoot kids we'd see everywhere. Walking impossibly long miles to school and wearing ragged school shorts year in and out, these kids were far more tangible evidence of our privilege than the 'starving children of Ethiopia' which parents liked to tote in front of their children during the '80's.

And tragically, not much has changed. Under-privileged children in rural areas are still as poor, as barefoot, as snotty-nosed as they were 30+ years ago. They still live in derelict labourers cottages on farms and tiny hamlets, they still walk long miles with hungry tummies to schools shamefully under-staffed and under-equipped.
They're not as evident to us city-dwellers as street kids and strollers, street-wise and stroppy. But the rural child is out there, and they need our help.

Which brings me to one of our favourite places. Help the Rural Child.

This is the Mowbray shop - clothing and bric-a-brac downstairs, books upstairs on many levels of winding, intriguing wooden floors. The children's room right at the top, a tiny attic room reminiscent of many a fairy tale - the perfect place to house a wealth of stories.

We spent lots of time here when we were living in Observatory, and bought many a treasure home. From the bookshop, old favourites from my youth and copies of adult novels I'd read and loved but didn't really want to pay full bookstore price for. Many an afternoon was spent reading there.
In the bric-a-brac shop I found shot glasses to match a random pair we'd had for ever (What? Doesn't everyone have shot glasses?), little heart-shaped candle holders to brighten a birthday table. Board games and baskets and antique linens.
And when we were sorting through our stuff while packing, the Rural Child was the recipient of many a black bag - the staff there humbling me with their gratitude for what I regarded as random crap!

So imagine how pleased we are to find a branch near our new home!

On Main Road, Kirstenhof, (the bric-a-brac shop is down the road in Retreat, I've not yet been - can't wait!), we've already spent many a happy hour there. The girls love to sit and read, I love to browse, the staff are welcoming and friendly, the air is calm and delightfully bookish. We like it there.
And we shop, one book each for the girls and a slowly growing collection of books for gifts - Christmas, birthdays, I love giving books and quite honestly, I'm finding nicer ones here then in commercial book stores.

I know some people feel iffy about second-hand. But if the book, or story, is beautiful, the price is right, the lesson is the sustainability of giving something a new life, and the beneficiary is a child who needs so much, then I can't think of a gift which ticks all the spirit-of-Christmas boxes better.

AND all books are 20% off until this Saturday!

Help the Rural Child, support these stores (there's another branch in Sea Point), and visit the website to find all the other ways you can help too.