Lots of Love headed to South Africa in November
The Love Quilt Project will be delivering 114 quilts to orphan children in South Africa this November with over 1,000 messages of kindness, support and love from school children across the US. Additionally, LQP will be making a substantial donation to the organizations that care for the South African children to help cover some of their educational needs such as books, shoes and uniforms. Here’s how the quilts will be distributed.
The first stop will be the Leamogetswe Safety Home in a township near Pretoria. Leamogetswe is a Tswana word meaning “all welcome.” The Leamogetswe safety home is “a home for children in need” and is a registered Child and Youth Care Centre with the Department of Social Development. It houses orphaned and vulnerable children and those living with HIV/AIDS. Leamogetswe provides a home and schooling for approximately 100 children and gives therapeutic, medical and spiritual care to them. LQP delivered 40 quilts to this home in 2016 and is now delivering another 75 quilts.
On Saturday, November 17th, LQP will sponsor a special event for the Leamogetswe children at the St. Francis of Assisi Anglican church in Waterkloof. The children will be transported to the church where they will participate in games, enjoy lunch and learn more about the power of love by creating messages on art squares that will be given to vulnerable American children. At the end of the event, each child will be given their special quilt to take home and cherish.
The second stop will be to the township of Kayamandi in Stellenbosch to deliver 37 quilts to children who live in foster homes run by the Home from Home organization. The founders of Home from Home, Jane Payne and Pippa Shaper, envisioned a future where orphaned and vulnerable children of South Africa would not have to grow up in institutional children's homes. They shared a belief that children should be able to grow up in their own communities, in small family homes, where they can feel safe, loved and secure. In 2005, this vision became a reality as they registered the Home from Home Trust as a Non-Profit Organization (NPO) as well as a Public Benefit Organization (PBO). Home from Home is also formally recognized by the Western Cape Department of Social Development as a registered Cluster Foster Care Scheme.
Pippa and Jane believe that living in a small family unit (no more than 6 children) with a dedicated foster mother or parents is the next best place for children who cannot be cared for by their own biological families. They are proud to say that they provide support and care for over 200 orphaned, abused, neglected and vulnerable children, many of whom are affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The Love Quilt Project has been delivering quilts to these foster children since 2011.
The children will be gathering in a local community center where they will also participate in the LQP lesson and make art squares filled with loving messages to support vulnerable children in America. Each child will leave with the special gift of a handmade quilt.
The LQP team will have delivered over 100 quilts to South Africa this year. And with the new art squares from the South African children, they will have the makings for many more quilts to be delivered in the US.