Student Contributor -J. Sant
Knit-a-Square is a Gauteng, South Africa based organization founded by Ronda Lowrie who wanted to help all the children she saw who were suffering during the cold South African nights and winters. The goal of this organization is to give blankets to orphaned or vulnerable children in South Africa where there is constantly a lack of blankets. Knit-a-Square created a website where they provide knitting lessons and tell the stories of the children in need of blankets. In order to contribute to this organization, Knit-a-square has asked for 8” knit squares to be sent to South Africa where volunteers combine them into blankets and give them to children. Other possible donations include hats, toys, and money to help fund the work of the organization.
There are over 140 million children orphaned and exposed to the elements without proper shelter or warmth. In South Africa, there are 3.5 million orphaned or vulnerable children with an increase of 500 children a day. By donating a knit square to Knit-a-Square, we can help children who are suffering by providing warmth and hope. Knit-a-Square has been able to donate 84,000 blankets since 2008 to children in South Africa. The website also includes a teacher resource that provides teachers with facts about the life conditions of the orphaned or vulnerable children, the history of giving and instructions and patterns for knitting squares. Proceeds of this resource and other donations make it possible for the operations in South Africa to continue. This is a great partner organization for teachers because the stories of children in South Africa are shared on the website which helps students understand how important it is to help them.
By downloading the Teacher Resource, teachers will have donated $10 to help the operation efforts in South Africa. As well, teachers and students can use one of the patterns on the website and in the Teacher Resource to donate a knitted square, hat, toy or hand-warmer or make a monetary contribution. It would be really fun to teach the class how to knit! However, it would require a lot of donations for yarn and needles and patients and skill from the students. This project would best be done with older students in the middle or high school grades and would need more than one time to complete the knitting projects. This organization is a great way for students to share their talents or learn a new skill and share this with other children who are in extreme conditions and in great need of help.
