These beautiful hand made teddy bears were donated to Change the Truth by the Mother Bear Project, an organization that connects people who like to knit, crochet and sew with children in developing nations. (Read more about Mother Bear here.) For many of these children, like the orphans at St. Mary Kevin, the teddy bear becomes a friend or a baby. And it is sometimes just about the only thing the lucky recipient can call his or her own.
Our 180 bears are just some of the tens of thousands of bears that have been lovingly stitched and then shipped off to different parts of the world. Team member Suzanne (who was responsible for making the connection with Mother Bear) managed to pack all the cuddly creatures into her duffel bags. As we opened the bags to begin assembling the Christmas gifts, we were delighted over and over again with the wonderfully unique personalities of each bear. (While a basic pattern is used, each knitter is encouraged to put his or her mark on the bear.)
Each bear was put into a colorful plastic washbasin, alongside a few other small goodies, and on Christmas Day the kids lined up to get their gifts. I think you can imagine for yourself that the soft, smiling bears were a HUGE sensation!
After posing for a few photos, most of the kids quickly disappeared with their new furry friends. We didn’t understand until later that they had made a bee line for their dormitories so they could safely stow their bears in the metal trunks that hold all of their belongings.
When I went into the girl’s dorm early the next morning, I saw for myself that the bears were neatly tucked under blankets, carefully placed into a corner of a trunk or being held, rocked or sung to.
Margaret made a raincoat for her bear. Petra made a sling so she could carry her baby around properly. Petra even had added hair to her bear’s head by sewing on pieces of yarn.
The knitters sign the bears with their own names (they also make sure to include a bright red heart over the bear’s chest) and these were the names with which each bear we gave out seemed to be christened. So there are lots of new babies and friends at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage now with names like Kelly, Christy, Lauren, Aunt Rose and Grandma Bea.
For children who have next to nothing (often nothing) in the way of material possessions, these bears will mean everything. Thank you Suzanne and Mother Bear Project.
And goodnight, Aunt Rose. Sweet dreams!
4 comments:
What sweet pictures. I love the one of Petra and her sling.
Gloria, what a beautifully written piece, thank you.The pictures are so telling. They express with pure and simple joy just how much the teddy bears meant to the children and I think to all of us as well. Thank you Mother Bear Project for your love in donating these little gems of huggable love! Suzanne
Sounds like a fantastic organization. How great that you were able to work with them. The children look delighted!
-Mary T.
As someone whose has knit bears for the Motherbear Project quite often it is wonderful to hear about how much children love their bears. Thanks for posting about them and for the pictures!
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