Sending Support and Shawls for the Women of the Afghan Parliament

Recently, we spoke with our friends at afghans for Afghans at the Knit & Crochet Show in Portland. This incredible non-profit organization collects handmade sweaters and garments for Afghan children and people in need, and works with organizations to distribute them in Afghanistan.

Their most recent project has been very special. American and Canadian volunteers made shawls for the 91 women in Afghanistan’s parliament, as a show of support for these courageous women. The following is information from their website:

The afghans for Afghans project presented a gift of a tea party and new wool shawl to each of the 91 women members of the Afghan Parliament in Kabul. These beautiful, lovingly made shawls were hand-knit or crocheted by American and Canadian women to show support and admiration for the women leaders of Afghanistan. We wanted to salute the courage of the women members of Parliament, bolster their souls, and warm their hearts. We wanted to do something special for these women leaders working very hard to serve their people, rebuild their war-torn country, and role model for girls.

These shawls, along with letters of support from American female politicians like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were then presented to the women by teacher and afghans for Afghans volunteer, Elsie de Laere, in a special ceremony.

Click here to see a video and read the article on ABC’s site about this special event.

Want to know more about afghans for Afghans? Listen to the interview with the great volunteers and founder Ann Rubin from the Knit & Crochet show on our podcast, YarnCraft. Click here to listen [MP3].

Related links:

• afghans for Afghans official site
• Lion Brand Charity Feature (Aug. 2007) – afghans for Afghans