You're probably wondering "what the hell is Books and Bears?" or "why are you giving kids Teddy Bears when they need x,y, and z?".
The answer is simple, Kids need to be kids! Sometimes this world makes us forget the innocence of childhood, which can be overlooked with the desire to protect kids from the horrors of this cruel world. But kids need to be kids, a Teddy Bear is a simple thing that many kids in the West may have dozens of but many of the kids that I am helping have never owned a Teddy Bear let alone a new pair of shoes.
[One of the packages sent to Van, Turkey]
For most, their own Bear is the only thing that is truly their's. At night it's there to give them some comfort, a wee buddy to talk too and even fall asleep with, despite what madness is going on outside that is that kids own wee special thing.
[On the border, the first time most of these kids owned their on Bear!]
Some of these kids will be going to sleep in an impoverished area which can lack the basics that we are used too in the West. An area which may have suffered yet another bombing, or witnessed shelling of in the distance. Sometimes at night, all a kid needs is something to hug and to talk to. Something which is there's, which ain't going to hurt them, and something that I hope in time they can hand down to their own child.
[Syrian refugees in Ankara receiving their own wee buddy]
Last year I managed to ship off about 1000 Soft Toys to kids primarily on the Turkish border of Iraq and Syria. This was done as a part of the support packages that I am sending to various schools on that border.
[From one of the packages sent to Van, looks like these bears have been adopted by kids]
Although the' books and bears name' is the generic title I gave this project, it has been coined as "Adopt a bear" for the kids, or "help teach the bear" as the soft toys are a part of the educational school support pacakges.
Cost wise, the bears are build in bulk. Sometimes I am able to buy a job lot online, sometimes from an overstocked retailer or even bought from a local charity shop.
[Example of the types of teddies sent in one package, alongside educational supplies]
[And here's some of these bears with their new owners.]
An extension of this project is underway, which is basically a kids playroom for disadvantaged kids in Ankara. This Playroom should end up with a 3 meter tall Teddy Bear and a load of other teddies and will be a part of an educational support project. A lot of factors are in play and I will give more info soon.
Thanks to a comment by @nathen007 I now plan on recording a few videos of this project (if all goes well) and hopefully report back on it sometime next month.
If things go well then I shall expand this playroom idea to Gaziantep and possibly into Syria (Depending on support), this would go as part of an educational support package, however, if this happens then it will be later on this year.
Thanks for everyone's advice and support. Any money that I make from Steemit will go towards these projects. I do not receive any support from the media or the UK. I really appreciate everyone's advice, votes and comments.
I'm still getting use to SteemIt and hope to improve the quality of what I write, feel free to give me suggestions in the comments down below.
Dave.
@epicdave