Teddy bears to dry tears
Currently Cynthia makes an astounding total of 50 teddies, three times a year.
For almost three decades Cynthia Micklethwait has been using her passion to make a difference in the lives of others.
Cynthia has always had a love for needle crafts and started a Women’s Fellowship Group within her church approximately 28 years ago.
“The group has always been open to anyone interested to join. From the start we were focused on charity work and one of our members heard about the Children’s Trauma Unit at Leratong Hospital. This unit not only assists children who got hurt in some or the other incident, but also children who are victims of abuse and rape, among other things,” she said.
This was a cause that immediately touched the avid knitter’s heart. She subsequently took on a teddy bear project with the rest of the group to knit teddies for the traumatised little ones.
According to Cynthia these handmade toys make it a bit easier for the children to confide in authorities, and give them a friend to hold on to when they feel scared or overwhelmed.
A social worker collects the friendly little teddies around three times a year and takes them to Leratong Hospital.
“I usually make sure the teddies are ready to be collected just before a school holiday. According to the social workers, most cases of rape and abuse occur during school holidays as the children are usually left in someone else’s care while the parents go to work,” Cynthia explained.
Every few years, she increases her target of teddies to be made. Currently she makes an astounding 50 teddies, three times a year, totalling an impressive 150 teddies per year.
What’s great about these soft toys is that they can be washed by hand or in a washing machine, and still come out intact and look like the original product.
“I will never get tired of knitting the teddies. I enjoy making each one unique and giving each teddy its own little personality. And it just warms my heart to know that they are being made for a good cause. I can just imagine the fear some of the traumatised little ones experience, and I just hope that these teddies make it at least a little bit easier for them,” Cynthia concluded.
