But with the help of the public, the dedicated township knitters hope to go beyond the call of duty to give something back to the foreigners who lost everything in the recent spate of anti-immigrant violence.
Women in the five township communities involved in the project - including Alexandra, where the xenophobic attacks first broke out, have already completed close to 1,500 scarves. Each community was to produce scarves for local orphans, but with the displacement and dispossession that has swept South Africa, Med-Lemon® in conjunction with MaAfrika Tikkun want to redirect a proportion of the envisioned total to victims of xenophobia across the country.
“We want to keep our promise to orphaned children in the townships, but we cannot ignore the glaring need to assist victims of xenophobia. Many people have lost not just their clothing but also their homes; their sense of security; their dignity. We cannot hope to undo all the damage, but at the very least we can help keep them warm during the cold weather,” says Craig Doré, Marketing Director for Consumer Healthcare at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
Med-Lemon® and MaAfrika Tikkun, who are running this income-generating knitting scheme for the fourth consecutive year in Gauteng's Orange Farm, Diepsloot and Alexandra communities in Gauteng, as well as in Deft and Mfuleni in the Western Cape, are calling for donations from the public for additional wool and funds to further exceed the target of 5,000 scarves. This will allow the scheme to meet its original commitment to South African children as well as providing victims of xenophobia with some respite from the winter chill.
To make a contribution, contact Amanda Blankfield on 011 325 5914 or email for more information.
GlaxoSmithKline South Africa (Pty) Ltd
T: (011) 745 6000
www.gsk.com
