A charitable initiative sending bras to underprivileged areas is facing closure due to unaffordable storage facilities in Twickenham.
ZABRA, the Afreebra initiative, has sent thousands of bras to more than 30 countries and 250 charities and projects since 2015.
Founder Jeanette Kruger, who has self-funded a storage unit for the bras, is now looking to ‘slow down’ the organisation due to a change in her financial circumstances since becoming ill.
She said: “I want everything I’ve gone through to count for something – it’s about making a difference.”
Ms Kruger was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and ME in 2014.
Losing weight through the illness, the founder tried to donate four bras but realised none of her local charity shops would sell what she was donating.
She said: “They were either going to throw the bras away or send them off to be recycled.”
Originally from South Africa, the founder knew there was a “big need” for underwear items in her home country and asked friends and family to send her their unwanted bras.
“Before I knew it I had 120 bras and I realised I should let more people know,” she said.
“I started a Facebook page in 2015 and over nine years we’ve donated over 200,000 items.”
The majority of bras donated in the UK travel to the Rural Smile Foundation in Ejura, Ghana.
Abubakar Ahmed, founder of the Rural Smile Foundation, said the charity has received around 20,000 pieces from ZABRA since 2019.
He said: “The areas we operate in in Ghana are poverty-stricken – where the living standards are quite low.
“For women to get bras in these communities is such a luxury – this project has gone a long way to giving a lot of dignity to women and they can now feel comfortable.”
Kruger currently has 10,000 bras in the storage facility which she does not have space for at her home in Twickenham.
The founder is working with The Footprints Foundation, who have launched a JustGiving page for ZABRA on their website, to raise money to keep the storage unit open.
Featured image credit: Jeanette Kruger
