Girl Matches Crochet Skill with Need in Namibia

Amanda Humphreys was looking for a project she could do that would use her crochet skills and help her earn a Gold Award – the Girl Scouts’ highest honor.

As a member of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Woodbridge, Virginia, Amanda learned from her pastor about the children who live in sparsely populated areas of Namibia and the work being done in children’s hostels by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN). Many of the children have been orphaned by epidemics of AIDS, malaria and TB, and all are vulnerable. The 19 ELCRN hostels care for 1,650 children with a place to live, food to eat and an education.

Amanda did some research. She learned that the hostels need many things, including clean, warm bedding. She knew just what to do. Amanda recruited helpers using social media tools, including Facebook and YouTube, and taught them to crochet “granny squares” which could be made into blankets for the hostels. With the help of friends, collected squares are assembled into 36-by-60 inch blankets.

The result is that the Metro D.C. Synod delegation traveling to Namibia in May will be carrying more than 35 warm blankets for the children’s hostels!

For more information about Amanda’s project, visit her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CareSquares). Haven’t heard yet about the Gold Award, but with or without it we’re very proud of her.

Excerpted from article by Kathy Tobias