Bombalulu School Project

CAN YOU KNIT OR CROCHET?

The Rotary Club of Ashby de la Zouch Castle are looking for individuals to help in an International project. We would like to support the Bombalulu School in Mombasa, Kenya by providing blankets for their safe house.

The school’s safe house is tailored to meet the unique needs of abused girls. With access to individual counselling and live

-in support from female teachers, the charity helps the girls begin to heal and reclaim their dignity.

The home is in a flat within walking distance of the school. A second adjacent flat is where the two teachers, who look after the safe house girls, stay and provide meals from a small kitchen. The flats are small and furnished but secure. Using bunk beds to make the most of the space, they can accommodate up to 8 girls at any time. Plans are underway to increase this number to 10 in the not-too-distant future.

We are planning to make a number of blankets (size 6ft x 4ft) with your help, which will be sent to the safe house via the charity Empowering Kids in Kenya. These blankets will not only provide warmth at night, but they will also become each girl's personal property, acting as their comfort blanket when they are stressed.

A shipment bound for the school will leave these shores in April 2025, so we would like our contribution to be included. That gives us just six months. Our wish list is to send one blanket for each bed, which means we need somewhere in the region of 1000 squares.

HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

Knitting

Using 4mm pins and double-knitting wool

Cast on 30 sts and garter stitch until you have a square

(about 48 rows, dependent on your tension)

Or

Cast on 30 sts and knit a strip as long as you wish.

If you wish to knit wider, please cast on either 60sts or 90sts. Working in these multiples will make it easier when we sew your donations together.

Crochet

Please crochet to your own design (granny squares/solid or patterned) to a completed 6-inch square.