BABY BONNET APPEAL
(from Liz Rhodes - on behalf of her niece)

Can you knit?

Can you spare a couple of hours to knit a baby’s bonnet to help save the life of a vulnerable child?

Since early October, my niece, Ailsa, has been working as a doctor for Médecins Sans Frontières* in the foot-hills of the Pakistan/Afghanistan border, 120 miles west of Quetta. She is in charge of a maternity and neo-natal unit. The local people struggle against overwhelming odds of poverty, disease and a lack of adequate nourishment and shelter, exacerbated by man-made and natural disasters such as the recent unprecedented floods. The mortality rate is high, particularly for new born babies throughout their first few weeks of life.

Although the mothers traditionally wrap their babies in swaddling clothes, they do not seem to cover their heads sufficiently to keep them from losing much of their body heat. The summers in this region are very hot but the winter months are extremely cold. For this reason, Ailsa has asked the family to knit as many hats as possible, to be sent out to Pakistan as soon as possible, in the hope of helping these infants in their fight for life.

If you would like to knit a baby bonnet for this cause, you can print off a suggested pattern, but any style would be perfectly acceptable. However, the hats only need to be premature baby or 0-3 months in size, and preferably not plain white in colour as this is associated with mourning in Pakistan.

If you do decide to get those needles clacking, any finished items can be posted or brought to me, Liz Rhodes at Orchard House, Lynsted Lane, Teynham, ME9 9RN, or if you prefer, you can phone me on 01795 521216 and I can arrange to collect.

Thank you!

UPDATE:  We have had some very positive reports about how baby bonnets are being used and becoming a topic of local conversation and inspiration for mothers with very young babies.  Some images shared from Pakistan.

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* Médecins Sans Frontières is an international, independent medical humanitarian foundation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion and natural or man-made disasters. It has no political or religious affiliation.