For want of a blanket

This summer several of my family have plans for a great adventure. My ‘baby’ sister Sophie is going to spend 2-1/2 months in the Wollaitta area of Ethiopia, where two of my daughters were born. Sophie is a nurse who has volunteered in Ethiopia twice before. This time she will be volunteering at the Soddo Hospital, training nurses and helping out in any other way she can.

My mom and dad have been wanting to go on a mission trip to Africa for years, and they’ve decided this is the year. They will be joining Sophie in Ethiopia for a month, helping out at that same hospital. My mom is an OB nurse, and my dad is one of those useful sorts who can do almost anything, from wiring to construction to engine repair, so I am sure they will find lots to do. I am so thrilled that they are getting this chance and I can’t wait to hear about their adventures.

My folks have already met with an experienced volunteer who will be working there this summer as well. When Mom asked what they could bring to help on the OB ward, the volunteer mentioned basic things. Rubber gloves. Trash sacks.

And baby blankets.

The volunteer said that when women come to the hospital to give birth, they often come with nothing — absolutely nothing — for their babies. The staff at the hospital would love to be able to give those mothers one baby blanket each, so they could wrap their babies up before they take them home.

Can you imagine being so desperately poor that you could not afford a scrap of cloth in which to wrap your baby?

I cannot.

And so I want to send blankets to Africa.

Would you like to help me?

On February 1st I am hosting a blanket party here on my blog. If you would like to help me wrap up a few babies, I hope you’ll come and help me out. There will be a paypal link on the blog that day to make it easy for you to donate. Every penny of your money will go straight to Ethiopia. If you think your readers might be interested in wrapping a few babies themselves, I hope you’ll consider mentioning the party on your blog too, OK?
February 1st. Let’s see how many babies we can wrap.