As the cold weather approaches, many children in our community will be facing the winter months without a proper jacket.

In the bitter desert cold of the borderland region, a proper coat can determine whether a child will go to school on a winter day or stay home – leaving an impact on attendance, learning, and stability. For other children, lack of an appropriate jacket can affect their access to the outdoors during the cold months, missing out on experiences with others and the benefits from engaging with nature. Others that do brave the low temperatures without enough outerwear, face the challenge of interacting with the world while their bodies work twice as hard as adults to regulate their body temperatures, effecting human processes and the freedom of simply being a child.