knitted blankets

Over the last few weeks I have been corresponding with a lovely lady who is part of the Queensland Country Women’s Association. She asked if I would be going to the Fistula Hospital at all. I was. She said that the ladies in her CWA group do a lot of charity work for various causes, including making knitted blankets, many of which are sent to the Fistula Hospital.

For the sake of the ladies in her group, she asked me if I would let her know if whether they have an effect – whether they make the lives of the ladies better.

What I say here is based on my knowledge of Ethiopia, my observations and the conclusions drawn from that. It is not based on interviewing anyone. However, I think it might be pretty accurate.

When you go to the hospital, most of the patients who are out in the grounds are wearing their blankets as head scarves/shawls. Scarves are extremely common in Ethiopia, with netellas being lightweight, cheesecloth style scarves used to cover women’s heads, and gabis, which are heavier and used as wraps/headcoverings/blankets. So to see the ladies using the blankets as scarves really was not that surprising.

I asked our guide about the blankets. She said that each woman is given one on arrival at the hospital. Then they receive another one when they leave. Most blankets donated are from Australia, the US and the UK.

I imagine that to receive such a bright and colourful gift would be wonderful. The fistula patients arrive at the hospital in dirty, smelly clothes which are unable to be cleaned because of the constant leaking, due to their injuries.

Many regional clothes from around Ethiopia are white. The countryside these people live in is extremely dusty (red, brown dust), yet they manage to keep their clothing white. I am constantly amazed by it! However, the women who suffer from fistulae are unable to keep their clothing white, and while I do not know this for sure, I imagine that this is a source of some shame to them.

A bright, knitted blanket would probably be unlike anything the women have ever owned before. To see the women wearing their scarves, it was as if from them they received a message of love and care, and that in turn gave them dignity.

So Yvonne, and all your QCWA friends (and anyone else!), please keep knitting blankets. They really do make a difference. The message they send is so valuable to these women whose lives have been prematurely destroyed (but are now getting a second chance), and who so often have been rejected by community and even family. To have a gift of love and care is almost beyond measure.