Thursday, April 16, 2009

Welcome to HotHeads Knitters!

Welcome to Burera Hospital, rural Rwanda, HotHeads Knitters, and this exciting and important project! Burera District Hospital opened in April 2008 to serve a population of 400,000 people, and currently about 100 babies are delivered here per month. In this setting, where resources are limited and temperature often drops in the 50s, we struggle to keep sick newborns and premature babies warm enough, and hypothermia can be deadly. Along with great medical care, a simple intervention to help save some of these little ones is to provide each with a beanie to keep them warm.

So we started HotHeads Knitters in an effort to put a warm and stylish beanie cap on every baby born in Burera as soon as they enter the world - as is done in American hospitals. We would love to recruit any and all knitting groups or individuals who are excited about this cause - all styles and colors to keep our beautiful newborns warm are welcome! We will arrange shipping to rural Rwanda and post stories and photos of your work in use.

This blog will help chronicle our mission - with information from personnel at Burera Hospital, input and ideas from our knitting volunteers, and of course stories and photos of the beautiful (and warm) newborns! Please feel free to post any ideas, questions, or comments. If you are new to the site and would like to become involved, please post a comment with contact information and we will respond with more information. Thank you!

2 comments:

  1. Are there fiber requirements or restrictions? I am assuming machine washable and dryer safe but are natural fibers allowed or just acrylic?

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  2. Hi!
    Nope, no requirements or restrictions of any sort - anything that will keep a baby's head warm! They will be handwashed too (none of the moms will have a machine or dryer), so I think any fiber at all will do. Thank you! Let us know if you have more questions.

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