We love to it when people reach out to us to find out more about what we do. It’s amazing to be able to share stories of our work and connect with our supporters! Read on to find out what happened when Alicia got in touch with us earlier this year…

I was sitting one evening in May 2021, reflecting on the past year and how Covid has affected people all round the world in so many ways. Sitting with my thoughts, I took stock of how grateful I am for the small things in life, a close family, a warm roof over my head, and a stable job that I enjoy. It made me realise that it's the simple things in life that matter the most. It was on this evening of reflection that I recalled my 2015 trip to India, where I decided to celebrate my crown Birthday (28 on the 28) with the beautiful girls at the Unique Home Jalandhar. Visiting The Unique Home Jalandhar, was enriching, humbling and it gave so much meaning to my life, just seeing the smiles and happiness on the girls faces meant so much.

Thinking back to my experience in India, it inspired me to search online for an organisation in the UK, where I could contribute, give back and make a difference even in the smallest of ways. When I stumbled across Operation Orphan based in Nottingham, I was thrilled! The work that Operation Orphan does is amazing, meaningful and it is making a huge difference in the lives of so many. After speaking to Caitlin and hearing more about Operation Orphan and their great work, I knew that I wanted to help to make a difference in whatever way I could.

One does not need to be rich or famous to make a difference, a difference is made with small sincere acts of kindness and compassion, making life a little easier, be it for family, friend, or a stranger. If the pandemic taught us anything, it is to appreciate the smallest blessings in life. Having started crocheting a few years ago, I decided my way of giving back was to give myself a new project of crocheting a blanket for a child, but with the added challenge of adding fleece to it (thank you YouTube) to make it warmer. I started with an established design and then built on it creating my own pattern. Of course, still being an amateur crocheter, when I started down the path of creating my own pattern, I ended up with a couple hiccups that I had to figure out how to correct along the way, so it was never going to be "shop bought perfect."

The whole process took about a month give or take, but it was worth it! Crocheting the blanket made me feel like I was truly giving back, I really enjoyed the experience, mistakes, and all. I felt proud when I managed to attach the fleece to my crocheted blanket and was super excited to pass it on to Operation Orphan so that a child could enjoy making use of it. Once I completed my project, I took some final photos and sent it to my family. On looking through my photos I spotted a mistake in my pattern, an oversight on my part, let's see if you can spot it in the photos .

Spotting the mistake reiterated that "Life is Imperfectly Perfect", there's ups and downs, but what matters is that we are sincere and put our heart into anything we do. We all like to think that we have full control of our lives but every so often we are reminded that this is not so, life humbles us and reminds us how imperfectly perfect it is. It reminds us of how precious life is and that sometimes others need that extra care to feel acknowledged, know they are valued, they are seen and are integral to their community and that their life matters. This whole process of reflection, finding Operation Orphan and making the blanket highlighted two life lessons, one that it really is the small things in life that matter and two that "Life is Imperfectly Perfect" so let's help each other smile through it.

I look forward to contributing more and building relations with Operation Orphan.

Best Wishes

Alicia