The team of women at Days for Girls Nelson usually work with sewing machines, but when they got the call for knitted baby hats to give to Ethiopian mothers with newborn babies, they got out their knitting needles and began to knit.
In rural Ethiopia, it can be a challenge to reach quality maternity care and thousands of women suffer when they give birth at home without medical care.
Hats for Hamlin is an initiative led by Hamlin Fistula New Zealand which provides surgical intervention and rehabilitation, along with the training and placement of midwives across rural Ethiopia to improve maternity care access. The tiny woollen baby hats are one small piece of warm clothing that may be the only clothing a family has for their newborn baby.
Since answering the call from Hats for Hamlin, the team at Days for Girls Nelson has knitted more than 50 baby hats – little beanies - and asked the community for more, with the pattern provided. Keen knitters responded and now there are hats of many colours being knitted.
Team leader Debra Gibbs says nearly 3,000 hats have been knitted around New Zealand so far and there will be an ongoing collection.
“It’s a good winter project and they’re beautiful.”
For those who aren’t knitters, Debra says people can also donate woollen yarn for more hats to be created. Hats head to Christchurch where they will be packed and sent to Ethiopia.
At Days for Girls Nelson, which is based in the former visitors’ centre on Gladstone Rd, up to 14 women are usually cutting, sewing and ironing items such as feminine hygiene kits. But as Debra says, knitting is just another one of the skills among the team. Knitters can contact Days for Girls Nelson through its Facebook page to get the pattern for the baby hat.
