Uplift Project

Update August 2020 - Uplift has decided to close the charity but we have sourced another that can use your good quality bras. See our Blog titled "Support the Girls" for more details. 

For women in disadvantaged communities a bra is often unobtainable or unaffordable. This project collects new and second hand bras and sends them wherever we have requests.

Why Bras?

"In the Solomon Islands it is quite difficult to access a comfortable bra. Some of the second hand shops sell bras but mostly women have to buy their bras from the Chinese Trade Stores. These bras have some problems; they come in smaller sizes, are made of nylon and perish quickly in tropical conditions. You cannot buy maternity bras or mastectomy bras in country. For the women to be given free bras is an unbelievable experience for all of them. Women feel a tremendous obligation to meet the needs of their families, and so for any woman in the village to spend money buying a bra for herself can almost be seen as an unforgivable sin. The priority for women's spending is food and education needs of children."
 - Rose Wale, 2012, Report of Bra Distribution, Solomon Islands.

The situation described above is common in many countries. Women appreciate the common dignity of a bra for business or social occasions. Bras control breast swing when women bend to garden or cook at ground level. In humid climates rashes, fungal infections and abscesses occur between the breast and the chest wall. Bras help by allowing air circulation. Nursing mums everywhere leak, and bras allow the dignity of a dry shirt, and the comfort of support. A thrush rash on a mother's skin may spread to her baby's mouth, and then back into the breast itself. A mastectomy bra offers privacy about the problem.

Since 2005 Uplift Project has sent over two million bras wherever women have requested them.  Uplift tries to ensure they get to the women who need them without compromising their dignity. We have sent bras to Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Philippines, Bali, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Botswana, Uganda and Pakistan, the Northern Territory and the Kimberley regions in Australia.

Bella Bodies is supporting Uplift by donating our end of line new products and also encourages our customer community to get involved by donating any bras they do not wear anymore but are still in good condition.  

Uplift Project Ltd became a registered charity on 22/4/2015 and is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR). See our ACNC registration at www.acnc.gov.au

Uplift sends bras only where they are requested. We ship only in biodegradable packaging, and aim not to compete with local businesses.

Often the bra received through Uplift will be the only bra that woman owns.