52 Lives

Life #69

Request: Gift cards, carpet, day trips/holiday and dinner.

This week, 52 Lives would like to help an incredibly brave family from Twickenham, London.

Mary is a single mum of 5 children, aged between 1 and 16. She was in a violent marriage for 17 years, which came to an end last year when her husband violently assaulted their 16 year old daughter, after he found out she had posted photos of herself without a headscarf on social media. He was sent to prison and has since been released.

So, Mary left their family home with her children and has started her life over again. It has been very tough on all of them. Mary isn't used to dealing with things like household finances, and caring for the children all on her own isn't easy. They have very little. She managed to find some basic furnishings for the house and clothes for the children through charity shops and donations, but they are still struggling.

When I first came into contact with Mary, I offered to send her some gift vouchers (one courtesy of Surprise Surprise and another sent to me by a lovely lady called Jude Thomson). I didn’t realise at the time how much those vouchers would mean to her - I later found out that it meant she was able to buy a birthday cake and present for her daughter that week, and some school shoes.

Mary has been through a great deal, and still feels guilty that she wasn’t able to keep her children safe. Everything she has and everything she does is for her children. Mary's social worker said despite her difficult circumstances, Mary is doing well and is very much deserving of some help.

52 Lives would love to do something to help her and her amazing children, who have been brave beyond belief.

What we need

1. Gift vouchers 

...so Mary can buy much-needed things for her children. The most useful ones for her would be:

Tesco
Amazon
Argos

But any are appreciated!

Vouchers can be posted to:

52 Lives
PO Box 329
Hampton, TW12 9DF

2. Carpet

Mary needs carpet for her hall and children's bedrooms in time for Winter. This is something 52 Lives may be able to cover most of with existing gift vouchers donated by SCS, but if any other business might be able to help, please let me know.

3. A trip to the seaside /  a holiday
Either of the above would give Mary and her children some much-needed fun!

4. Dinner
Mary was adamant that she didn’t want any help for herself – just her children. But I discovered that what she would really love is to go out for dinner with a friend…such a simple thing, but it would mean the world to her, and it’s not something she ever has any extra money to do. If any local restaurants would be willing to help, please let me know.

Offer support

Offer help or send a message

(if you are sending a message of support for the person we’re helping, there is no need to fill in your email address or telephone number)

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