In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Build a Better Society (Babs) community development centre in Kewtown, a group of seniors from Rondebosch knitted 74 teddy bears for every child at its educare.
Babs started off as an edcuare 50 years ago, and over the years, its services expanded to include a seniors’ group and a soup kitchen.
The knitters are residents of Grosvenor Square – an independent living complex for people older than 50 – in Rondebosch who are part of this community’s knitting club.
The group often knits blankets and beanies for charity. One of the residents in the complex, George Gibbs, happens to be a founding member of Babs, and his wife, Eunice, is part of the knitting group.
Ms Gibbs asked the group if they could knit 50 teddy bears for the children of Babs in celebration of its 50th anniversary. That number increased to 74, as there are 74 children at the centre.
The leader of the knitting group, Jenny Daly, said it took three months for 20 knitters to complete the 74 teddy bears.
“Being part of this project gave us lots of satisfaction and lots of fun. As a group, we usually meet after lunch and we sit and knit and laugh and drink tea together. Our only request for being part of the Babs project was that every child will give their teddy a name,” Ms Daly said.
On Tuesday August 15, a handover ceremony was held at Grosvenor Square.
Wayne van der Vent, the chairperson of Babs, said there were many children in Kewtown who “don’t have anything of their own”, as even toys are shared.
“This teddy is something that will be theirs exclusively. And because it is handmade, it is even more special. It’s not necessarily the big gestures that make a difference.
“We do have our challenges, however. As an organisation, we had more money in the 1980s than now because of economic challenges. However, if we make more of these kinds of efforts to connect communities, we will see small miracles all around us.”
Mr Gibbs, 77, and the late Richard van der Ross established Babs 50 years ago, when an American oil company made money available for a year to start an early-learning centre.
