This week, we’re praising the heartfelt work of Judy Silberrad, 61, from Milton Keynes. She said…
Gazing at the calendar hanging on the wall, one date stood out. 16 December. My birthday –and my sixtieth birthday no less in 2022.
‘I want to do 60 nice things for my sixtieth,’ I told my husband Hugh, now 62.
So, I divided my 60 nice things into groups of 12 to make my target less daunting.
At first, Iwanted to do nice things for myself, like trying 12 new recipes and reading 12 new books.
But I realised Icould also do nice things for others, like sending bunches of flowers to 12 different people to cheer them up.
Then, one day, my phone lit up with anew email.
The kids couldn’t even go to school
Help aproject in acountry like Asia, Africa or Latin America… the email read.
It was anewsletter from Toybox –acharity dedicated to registering birth certificates to underprivileged children.
I’d been following their work since 2008, ever since Toybox raised money by selling beanies and colourful wooden crosses at my local church.
Learning that without abirth certificate, these children wouldn’t have access to healthcare and education, my heart broke.
The hardships these children faced, all because their families were living in poverty, unable to afford to register their births, was unimaginable.
Ineed to do something, I decided then and there.
Especially as I’d always been fond of children, having two of my own –Guy, 32, and Jack, 30 –and being aprimary school teacher for 17 years. ‘I want to register 12 more birth certificates,’ I told Hugh.
I’d already register
