Knitting in Mandela’s name

Mrs Carolyn Steyn, the founder of 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day, is a former pupil of Jeppe High School for Girls and a resident of Kensington.

The initiative was started two years ago and has made Carolyn an inspiration to pupils and to the community. She visited Jeppe High School for Girls last week to congratulate pupils and the Jeppe community for the part they played in keeping South Africa warm and in regaining the world record for the largest crocheted blanket.

Mrs Steyn was challenged by the late President Nelson Mandela’s assistant Zelda la Grange to make 67 blankets by Mandela Day 2014 to give to people in need, little did she know how the project would fly.

“I started crocheting on Christmas Day and realised I couldn’t do it on my own. I don’t have 67 friends and the friends that I had said they were too busy.

“One morning at 3am I created a group on Facebook called 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day asking complete strangers if there is anyone out there who might be able to help me make a blanket and the next morning I woke up and they were more than 100 people who had joined and wanted to help.

“We now have more than 7 000 members from South Africa and more than 10 000 likes from around the world. We are in London, England, Canada, United States of America among other countries making blankets in the name of Mandela,” said Carolyn.

The project has since grown into an international movement with KnitWits for Madiba gathering from around the world to knit, crochet or sew squares and ultimately create blankets to keep people warm in winter.

“It is about knitting in the name of our greatest prisoner of all, Nelson Mandela. Knitting broken lives together is the rallying call,” said Carolyn.