“One member made the comment that all a child needs as well as love is something to cuddle, something to read and to be able to feel emotionally comfortable. Another member then suggested we could make reading cushions or perhaps comfort quilts to be given to the children refugees –and so a project began!!”
“The WI initially envisaged making 10 items to give away as Christmas gifts to the locally housed Ukrainian children. It was thought that a reading cushion with a book and a soft toy in the pocket would be something which the children would treasure and also could be taken back with them when they eventually are able to return home.”
By the time of Ukrainian Christmas Day on January 7th, members of Hickling WI had made 80 reading cushions and quilts. Presentations have taken place in Hickling, Sutton Bonington, Keyworth and West Bridgford – the reaction of grateful families has been heartfelt (not to mention tearful).
“To see a 10yr old boy sit and hug his reading cushion was a memory which will stay with us all. To see the joy in a father’s eyes as he accepted an embroidered quilt for his newly born child following a traumatic escape from Odessa made all our efforts worthwhile and we all felt very humble.”
A genuinely inspirational project which helps in a way that makes a real difference.
(article published as part of our Tomorrow’s History project)
