Colourful snuggles for the kids
A group of Taranaki schoolchildren will be warmer this winter after the donation of an array of brightly-coloured quilts.
Eighteen Waitara Central School children received a handmade quilt to take home after the school was nominated by Aotearoa Quilters life member Paula Cole.
‘‘I live in the town,’’ she said. ‘‘This is a good opportunity to get some extra warmth for the kids at this time of the year.’’
Aotearoa Quilters, the National Association of New Zealand Quilters, have run the ‘Cosy Kiwi Kids’ for about six years. It was started by North Island co-ordinator Bobby Duncan, and they have given out more than 800 quilts across the North Island, each of which takes several hours to make. Their goal is that no child in New Zealand should be cold.
‘‘It’s just giving the kids something that’s their own, something they can snuggle up in,’’ Cole said. ‘‘It’s just another layer really and it’s something special to them. They don’t have to share it with anyone else if they don’t want to.’’
But it’s not just one school which has received quilts this year – Taranaki quilters ‘‘do an amazing job’’ giving quilts to people in the neonatal unit, other schools, hospice and to keep people’s knees warm in church, she said.
Deputy principal Emma Burleigh told the kids their names had been drawn out of a hat and they had ‘won’ their very own quilt. The kids were delighted with the quilts, unrolling them and wrapping themselves up and looking at all the designs.
Sitiveni Ngamotu, 9, said it felt ‘‘awesome’’ to get the quilt, and he was going to ‘‘snuggle with it’’.
Ataahua Hemi, 10, was trying to read all the writing designs on the quilt.
‘‘It’s got music on it and I like music. ‘‘I’m going to lie on it when I get home.’’ Burleigh said the school was ‘‘really grateful’’ on behalf of the children.