Bangladesh children get knitted out

Children from a small village in the Northeast of Bangladesh have been supplied with hundreds of knitted jumpers thanks to a tenant from Cestria Community Housing.

In the last two years, Doris Godfrey from The Oval in Ouston, Chester-le-Street has been knitting children’s jumpers for The Wear Surma Clinic, a health facility in the village of Boroudha in Northeast Bangladesh.

The former seamstress who used to work at Binns in Sunderland, knits all sorts of bright and colourful jumpers in different sizes for the children of the village. Mrs Godfrey, who can’t see the patterns, knits the jumpers from memory due to problems with her eyesight.

She voluntarily got involved in the project when her son met a couple from Sunderland who established the clinic and asked him if he knew somebody who could knit. When he suggested his mother had retired from work and needed something to do to occupy herself – she has never looked back.

In the last two years, Mrs Godfrey who turned 89 last week, has knitted over 300 jumpers which are boxed and transported to the village and handed out to the children.

The Wear Surma Clinic was established in 1992 by Carole Elliott SRN MBE, a Health Visitor in Sunderland.

The project was initiated to help the 3,500 people living in Boroudha which has an infant mortality rate of twenty deaths in a hundred children before their first birthday. Through her fundraising efforts, Carole raised enough money to open a brand new health facility in the village which has helped to reduce the death rate.

Mrs Godfrey said, “I get a lot of enjoyment out of knitting these jumpers as I know they are going to a good cause and will help keep the children of Boroudha nice and warm especially during the monsoon season.

“You see adverts all the time on T.V. asking people to donate money and sponsor events but you don’t get to see where your money goes to. At least I know that the jumpers I knit are given to the children as I see the photographs of them wearing them. It’s a delight to see the smiles on their little faces.”

Commenting on Mrs Godfrey’s kind kindness, Carole Elliott SNR MBE said: “I am very grateful to Mrs Godfrey for the jumpers that she provides for the children. We really appreciate her effort and commitment. The children love wearing the jumpers and not only do they keep them warm, they also save lives during the cold winter nights.”

Ian Broughton, Chief Executive at Cestria Community Housing said, “I applaud Mrs Godfrey for her kind generosity. To give up her own time and money to knit over 300 jumpers for a worthy cause is simply remarkable.”

Life expectancy in Boroudha Village is 51 years for men and 49 years for women. There is no direct road to the village which is flooded for 3-5 months every year during the monsoon. For more information on the Wear Surma Clinic, please log onto www.thewearsurmaclinic.com.