Highway women share winter warmth
The Apple Tree Foundation will ensure that the children of the valley will receive their hand-knitted beanies.
A TRIO of Highway women gathered together to ensure that more than 70 children in the valley would be kept warmer this winter.
“In June last year, at my previous job, we went to a crèche in the valley to donate blankets as part of an outreach initiative. When we arrived there on the chilly day I saw all these children with cold little heads and that is when I remembered I had a pattern to knit beanies at home,” said Marion Parker.
During the following months, in her personal time, Marion was able to knit three beanies. In August last year she decided to ask the Highway community for help with her project of knitting 50 beanies by June this year, and put the pattern on the Upper Highway info Facebook page. “No one got back to me so I carried on knitting beanies,” said Marion.
“On Thursday 13 March Jackie Phillips got back to me and said that her mother, Lucy Laporte, had knitted 50 beanies at the time. She has since knitted another 20 beanies,” said Marion.
According to Jackie, her mother knits every day and she enjoys doing it, and was only too happy to knit the beanies for the children. “The biggest issue was that wool is not cheap anymore. So I decided to sponsor the wool for my mother to knit,” said Jackie. Each beanie needs about 50 grams of wool and each ball of wool costs about R10.
“I knit every day and I started knitting these beanies last year but I really got stuck into it in February this year. I absolutely love knitting,” said Lucy. She can knit about two beanies a day, on top of her house chores.
The Apple Tree Foundation, a local NPC, will be in charge of distributing the beanies to the children in the valley.
If you would like to take part in the next beanie project, contact Marion on 071 364 9479 or email dolly.parker93@gmail.com
