Do your part and help these Lowveld ladies to ‘knit broken lives together’
Penny Boden moved here six years ago and was keen to meet new people and to give back to society. She was approached to become an ambassador for 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day in the Lowveld, and jumped at the opportunity.
67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day was started by philanthropist Carolyn Steyn when she was challenged by Zelda la Grange, late former President Nelson Mandela’s assistant, to knit, sew or crochet 67 blankets that would be distributed to those in need on Mandela Day.
Boden said Steyn was daunted by this challenge and decided to invite all her friends to assist. Using social media, this went viral and soon people everywhere were making blankets.
“This appealed to me and our first meeting took place in my small lounge with just a few ladies. Over the years this group has grown and grown. Ably assisted by Carol Stephens (a fellow ambassador), we have over 60 Lowveld ladies knitting and crocheting for us. We also have a group of rural ladies who come in on a weekly basis from Masoyi, who make beautiful blankets,” said Boden.
Stephens has headed up the Bokke Blanket Challenge which collects green and yellow blankets to create a giant blanket with a Springbok motive. She said they have almost 70 blankets to contribute. Her vision for her other projects was to hand over a beautiful scarf to every child in a rural school. Initially she wanted 650 scarves, but did not know how they would get to this seemingly impossible total.
In eight months, they gathered almost 1 500 scarves and many beanies. People far and wide heard of this challenge and were very happy to dust off their hooks and needles.
Covid-19 has changed many things for these industrious ladies, and they had to cut their monthly gatherings short and stay at home to create these beautifully knitted items.
On March 16, the group had the opportunity to meet for the first time since November and made a joyous occasion of it. They were welcomed by Sabie Valley Shop in White River with coffee, tea and some snacks to enjoy an afternoon of catching up, competing in a knitting quiz and continuing their work.
Boden quoted Mandela: “Together we can make a difference,” and added in her own words, “We can all help to ‘knit broken lives together’.”
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These ladies have the will, but need the wool. If anyone would like to get involved by knitting, crocheting, or donating wool or money to purchase wool, call Boden on 082-875-6691 or Stephens on 083-272-527 to make their contribution.
