With Love
Just prior to the Christmas holidays, Santa Claus knocked on the doors of the Chitungwiza Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project in the form of Susan Hockenhull, and her sisters at the Convent Craft Group in Suffolk, United Kingdom.
At the encouragement of the UK charity, “Teddies for Tragedies“, the craft group at the Convent of Jesus & Mary in Felixstowe met every Wednesday throughout the autumn, to knit small teddy bears that they intended to give to children “who need a hug”. They chose to give this Christmas hug to the children within HAZ’s Chitungwiza Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project (COVCP). However, a few weeks after Christmas, the hugs are still in the United Kingdom.
In total, 28 teddies were given to the COVCP, while another 12 were given to a local women’s refuge in Suffolk, where children arrive at a moment’s notice to escape abuse. . As Sue Hockenhull explained, “the group eagerly knitted, throughout the autumn term, a whole host of Teddies and we had a “Teddy Bear Parade” in December as a way of collecting them together. Also, each Teddy had a drawstring bag to keep it safe and clean”. Sue further explained that the women in the craft group were pleased to be able to help children on their doorstep and children far away in Africa. She highlighted that “each Teddy comes with love from the Convent and hope that it will bring a little bit of happiness to children, whether near of far, who need a hug.”
The thing is, when Sue Hockenhull delivered the teddies to HAZ-United Kingdom, just prior to Christmas in December, she had hoped to extend the Christmas hug from the craft group, to the children in Zimbabwe, by Christmas. Unfortunately, as HAZ focuses on maintaining the operations of its Clinical Services Program, and thus sustain the lives of those who depend upon the program, very few resources, financial or otherwise, remain to support the organization’s other projects and objectives. HAZ has thus far not been able to secure the funding or assistance to deliver the Christmas hugs in the form of the teddies from the sisters at the Convent of Jesus & Mary in Felixstowe, to Zimbabwe.
There is a saying that goes, “it is better to be late than never”. Perhaps this saying is not always true in all situations, but in this case, we believe that we are better off delivering these Christmas hugs late, than not ever delivering them at all. We would like to deliver the teddies to the children in Chitungwiza as soon as we can secure the support to do so. We want these orphaned children to know that thousands of miles away, there are people who think about them, and are concerned about their well-fare, and joy. If you are in any position to help with shipping of the teddies to Zimbabwe, please contact HAZ immediately, so we can deliver these already delayed Christmas hugs to the orphans in Chitungwiza.
To the sisters at the Convent, we thank you for your kindness towards the children of Zimbabwe, and pray for God’s blessings upon you.
Teddy Bear Parade
HIV/AIDS|ZIMBABWE Charity, Inc.
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