Item on sale:iPad case
Lovingly made iPad, mini-totes and Laptop cases hand-made by the XingQiCheng survivors of the massive Sichuan China earthquake in 2008. Helping rebuild lives and bringing hope to those who were devestated by the quake - read the full story in 'Charity Information'.
These beautifully hand crafted cases are only a small display of the courage, genorsity and strength of the victims. Helen brought a few back with her to hopefully share their encouraging stories and bring hope back to China from around the world.
2009 was a special year for Helen, it changed the way she viewed the strength in people through disasters and stories.
With the help of a Hong Kong based charity called MediCare Resources Ltd, she was able to visit the poorer places in China, places that people will never consider to go as a holiday destination. One of the places that she visited was Dujiangyan, a city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province in China. It was once a beauty city, but because it is the closest to the epicenter of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, parts of the city suffered severe damage.
Grey. The only colour she saw for a whole 2 hour trip.
Seeing the disaster on the news was nothing like experiencing and talking to the victims personally. Many shared their stories of lost of loved ones, living in temporary shelters, as the mission team visited schools and locals who are working hard to rebuilt their home town.
Nonetheless, it did boost their genorisity and unity as a tight community. On the way, Helen also met a hero raised by the devastating earthquake. Her name is Huang Li.
She was a young obstetrician in China and had a great future career ahead of her. In 2008 the earthquake took everything away from her and left only with her the right arm and her loving husband. The bitterness of losing something that she was proud of was a great. She once had a quick thought of ending her life because with having just one limb left she can no longer be a doctor and perform surgeries any more.With the encouragement of her husband and other charity funding support, she setup a non-profit organisation called XingQiCheng in the following year after the earthquake. The vision of the organisation was to help the victims of the earthquake to gain confidence and support in rebuilding their homes.
The products that they did were only hand craft tote bags, shoes inner sole, framed stitched pictures, mobile phone chains, etc. Having to know their story and meeting them personally was a great blessing to Helen.
Each one is hand crafted, no two are alike. Silky inner layer, single slot. 225mm x 225mm.
We currently have 4 iPad pouches:
We can hand pick one for you or just let us know if you have a preference during check out.
Currently for sale is the iPad bag, but below are some more – Laptop bags and small tote bags. Which are also available. Contact us if you're interested to find out more.
Xin Qicheng is a disabled rights organisation called "Heart Starting Point". "Xin" means "heart" and "Qicheng" is to "begin a journey".
HSP was established to build on “the enormous support from all areas of society that helped us out of the shadow of fear and sorrow,” says Ms. Huang. “We hope we can show people, through our own experiences, that even though we are disabled, we still embrace life, and we can create wealth and value for this society.” It aims to support not only earthquake victims, but also people who were disabled before or since the disaster.
One of the primary missions of the organisation is to develop the means for disabled people to earn a living. So far they have opened a small workshop that trains people in the art of traditional Qiang Minority embroidery and other handicraft skills, setting up outlets as far away as Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai to sell the work. There are now more than ten disabled people creating beautiful designs to support themselves.
Shipping is free Australia wide, and international shipping is also available. Simply contact us if you are interested.
If for any reason, for example the size, shape or weight of the object you're buying exceeds standard shipping dimensions, there may be extra charges, if so these will be specified in advance in the description of the object for sale.
While we can't guarantee dispatch times, we anticipate all deliveries are dispatched within 24 hours of receipt of payment.
We'll use either post or courier depending on delivery and dispatch locations.
If your product is not exactly as described it can be returned within 21 days for a full refund. Because products are often unique and one-of-a kind, it's not always possible to exchange them – however you’ll have to let us know within 7 days of delivery if you require a refund.
It all started with a conversation. It was in late 2011 when Trent Allen (MD of Ziller) and Ravi Prasad (The Trees and the Forests Strategy Director) were sitting in a room workshopping a brand project. Somehow conversation turned to the charities they and their businesses supported – and that soon led to a discussion on corporate and personal philanthropy. Anyway, one thing led to another and soon enough Ravi and Trent were trying to figure out how to connect individuals and businesses with the not-for-profit sector though e-commerce.
And that’s how Ten Very Special Things happened.
The mission and purpose of Ten Very Special Things is to give people a way of turning something special that they own into a donation to their favourite cause and to give business a way of turning their products and services into a contribution to their charity of choice.
If you'd like to sell something special through the site, send us an e-mail at info@tenveryspecialthings.com
Each seller chooses how much of the sale price goes to charity - from 20% to 80%
All our costs are covered by a 20% commission which is included in the total price.
