Botswana Project 2010

What beautiful things you have sent me for the Botswana Project!! Since my last post, there has been a knit avalanche coming in!

Sweaters donated by Anne Marie, Shaz, Beverly, Patricia, Jill, Sally, Angie and me:



Scarves/shawlettes from Patricia, Shaz and Anne Marie:



Legwarmers and slippers from Anne Marie and Sally:



Two dozen hats (!!) from Vickie, Bev, Beverly, Debbie, Maria, and Patricia:



And a blanket from Regina:



My photos don't do justice to your beautiful work.

Our grand total for this collection is:

28 hats
18 sweaters
5 scarves/shawlettes
4 blankets
2 slippers/leg warmers

You are all so incredibly awesome! Thank you!

First Ones In!

The first two donations for the January 2010 Botswana Project collection have arrived! Check out the two hats and two scarves that I received from niftyknitter:



And Eliza brought three baby blankets with her when she came for Thanksgiving!



Thank you to niftyknitter and Eliza for such lovely gifts!

Botswana and Beyond!!!

Some of your gifts to the Botswana Project, delivered last spring.

You have all been so generous and loving in making gifts for children that we have more than our volunteers from Penn can carry to Botswana. The good news is that Botswana is not the only place that Penn sends doctors and nurses.

I am thrilled to announce an EXPANSION of The Botswana Project to Mbagathi Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. This hospital is the only hospital serving the Kibera slum in Nairobi. There are approximately one million people living in Kibera, and less than 500 healthcare workers at Mbagathi. Thousands of children are HIV positive, and thousands more have lost a family member to AIDS. Mbagathi has a large pediatric clinic with a number of children's programs, and some of your future donations will be carried to Mbagathi by doctors from Penn's Global Health Equities Residence track. This video will give you an idea of what conditions are like in Kibera, and the amazing work done at Mbagathi Hospital. NB: the video was made by the group Physicians for Human Rights, not by Penn.



We need hand made hats, sweaters, blankets and toys for children of all ages. Sturdy wool, cotton and acrylic fibers are all welcome. The deadline for this collection round is December 31st. Your donations will be carried to Botswana and Mbagathi Hospital by volunteers from Penn. Please email Knittah with questions, or for the address to send your gifts. Thank you thank you thank you for showing these children that you care.

September Botswana Project

Once again, knitters and crocheters have buried my house in an avalanche of beautiful hand made gifts for children in Botswana! In just three months since our last collection, I received almost 45 POUNDS of lovely things from 19 people in 3 countries. Here's what you sent:

2 ponchos
7 pairs socks or booties
8 blankets
18 scarves
21 sweaters or vests
31 toys/dolls/playing cards
49 hats

I thought you might like to see a few pictures of the items. Your generosity is such that I can't keep up in photographing it all! But believe me, each item is equally beautiful.



I am packaging all your gifts for volunteers to deliver. I'll have another update very soon, and two lucky donors have prizes in their future too!

June 2009 Delivery

I took all your beautiful gifts to my doctor yesterday, and laid out a few for him to see. The rest were in a huge box! Our final tally was:

6 blankets
9 sweaters
3 shawls
15 scarves
8 hats
8 pairs mittens
5 hat sets (with either matching scarf or socks)
1 hand made toy

He was thrilled, and we talked about some ideas for the future as well. He happily posed for a picture, but I caught him while blinking. Sorry Dr. G! I didn't notice until this morning!



Thank you to each of you who donated for this round. Information on the next round will be posted this week!

Big Fat Generosity

You've overwhelmed me with your generosity once again! Today was the deadline for the latest Botswana Project collection, and I've got to cram a lot of gifts into this one post!

Sweaters, by Vicki, Anne Marie, Lara, and Bev:



Here's a better look at the ones at the bottom of the pile (Lara's and Anne Marie's):



Thank you for all the gorgeous gifts. I'll be taking them to my doctor on Monday, and I'll have an update for you next week!

Lisa sent shawls and blankets:



Hats by Maria, Corinna, Yasemin, and Carol:



Hat/scarf sets by Maria and Corinna:



Baby hat and bootie sets by Corinna, and a toy from Bev:



Mittens! Courtesy of Bev and her Monday night knitting group:



A whole mess of scarves from Anne Marie, Maria, Laina, Clarissa



More scarves from Clarissa, Maria and Anne Marie:

Eliza and Me

The June 19th deadline for our next Botswana collection is fast-approaching. Too fast. Where did May go? Anyway, I made this blue pullover:



And Eliza made two baby blankets like this one:



AND she made another baby blanket:



AND she made three scarves:



Rock on, Eliza! Just a reminder that gifts for the Botswana project are due to me on June 19th. We've been asked especially for sweaters and scarves. Email me if you need more info.

Making a Difference

I thought you would enjoy seeing pictures of one of the families you have helped with your donations to the Botswana project. Look at the smiles on these beautiful faces:



You put those smiles there! Your generous gifts of time and knitting have made a positive difference in the lives of this family. Thank you. Thank you.

Our next collection deadline is June 19th. I hope you'll join me, again.

Botswana Update

Hey everyone!!!! Our gifts are winging their way to Botswana, and I have new information for you.

The program that uses our gifts is part of the University of Pennsylvania's partnership with Botswana. You can read about the program here. The program also has a Facebook page.

I would like (with your agreement) to change our deadline for the next collection. Winter came early to Botswana, so I don't want to wait until our fall, their spring to send more gifts.

So our new collection deadline is June 19th! We've been asked especially for sweaters and scarves in all child sizes. Laina also suggested that we make shawls for the volunteers who work with the children, and Dr. G said that would be very welcome.

Email me with questions or for the address to send your gifts. And there will be prizes again!

Final Count, and Prizes!

Our final tally of handmade gifts for Botswana is impressive: 2 bags, 4 blankets, 5 pairs socks/booties, 7 sweaters, 8 toys, 11 scarves, and 47 hats! More hats and gloves were purchased and donated by you, as well. My husband and I delivered everything to my doctor this morning, and he says thank you thank you thank you! He was amazed at how much you gave, and where the gifts came from!

I promised prizes, and my husband did the honors of pulling three names from his (Eagles) hat:



Our winners are Anne Marie, Lizzie and Laina! Congratulations! I've already emailed or messaged you about sending your prize. What did they win? In order, clockwise from the right: 4 skeins of Classic Elite Paintbox, 1 skein of Great Adirondack sock yarn, and 2 skeins of Fearless Fibers worsted.



Thank you everyone for your generosity. We will do this again, if you are willing!

One Last Box

To my delight, I received a box yesterday from Amy in Kuala Lampur!!! She sent these hats and adorable children's sweaters. Thank you!!!!

Finish Line

The last donations have arrived, and I've got a mountain to show you!



These adorable Bobs are from vismajor. Freaking adorable!



Turtleknits sent this blanket and 5 hats. The yarn is very squooshy, too.



The scarf, 8 hats, granny square blanket AND super cute socks are from tiniestmonkey.



This bright pink blanket is from DianaW. She did a secret agent hand off to my husband in the lobby of his building to turn it in. He may be 6'4" tall with a buzzcut, but the man is not embarrassed to carry a bright pink blanket around (in a shopping bag).



Finally, these two funny guys are from Clarissa68. I think these are the first toys she's made, and they are fantastic!

Thank you to everyone who contributed items for this round of the Botswana project! I did promise prizes, so I'll be posting about that tomorrow! And your lovely gifts will be delivered to Dr. G on Monday!