The Sečovlje Salt Pans Nature Park host the largest ever charity exhibition of UNICEF rag dolls on the Slovenian coast. In an environment marked by a centuries-long tradition of salt production in harmony between man and nature, rag dolls in traditional clothes of salt workers and other dolls are on display. UNICEF's project raises aid for children in developing countries.
UNICEF's rag dolls have been displayed in many places in the past: at Ljubljana Castle, in libraries and bookstores across Slovenia, hotels, cultural centres, theatre performances, fashion store windows, banks, the Post Office of Slovenia and even at the Ig Prison. The latest in a series of exhibitions, in the Sečovlje Saline Nature Park in Caserma Gallery at Lera, is on display until 30 June.
Over the past 21 years, this charity project, which is one of the most popular in our country, has seen the work of many: from children in kindergartens and schools to students at university, from handicraft enthusiasts to renowned fashion designers, from grandchildren to grandmothers. This time, the dolls on display are those of the most loyal female creators, volunteers from all over Slovenia.
Each of the unique and handmade Rag Dolls represents a child in need in a developing country. Every year, 1.5 million children die from diseases that could easily be prevented by vaccination.
With a donation of €30, you can choose a rag doll or a rag boy and UNICEF can vaccinate one child in a developing country against eight childhood infectious diseases.
Over the years, more than 22,000 children in developing countries have been helped with rag dolls and rag boys from Slovenia.
More about the project at www.punckeizcunj.si.
