THE BWUSWP BEAT
By Julie Belding

In May I mentioned the need for vests for newborn babies in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, and how Merrilyn Withers, of Wellington, had started the ball rolling by knitting at least 36 herself. Little could I have guessed what that story would lead to.

A dozen women from around New Zealand were inspired by Merrilyn’s initiative – enough to ask for the pattern. One woman from Albany delivered a bag of garments in person, out of the blue. That was the tip of the iceberg. Some readers told me they were enlisting others in the project, so there may now be scores of Baptist women all around New Zealand, knitting their hearts out for the highland babies of PNG.

The women’s group at Blockhouse Bay Baptist mustered volunteers for a Knit-In at the church. They invited all knitters (and learners) to bring their needles and some wool, and on June 8, 23 women showed up.

“There was a remarkably wide range in ages,” said a reporter, “from women in their 80s down to teenagers. One one of our ladies donated a bin full of an assortment of quality wool, so there was no need to buy wool for the occasion.”

Blockhouse Bay Baptist will hold another Knit-In this month. Some of the garments will go to a missionaries Roger and Lana Deed, whom the church supports in PNG. The rest will go to Kaa Simon, the nurse/midwife who leads Baptist women’s ministries in Mt Hagen, and whose original idea it was.

So thank you, knitters everywhere. Your generosity has been overwhelming. Some vests will go to Hawaii with us later this month (to be handed over to Kaa) and the rest we will carry personally to PNG in late September. We may also need to need to hire a container!

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