Anja Squares for a broken heart

Sometimes you can just stand in awe of how good people are, how friendships and goodwill can extend over the web and into people's hearts.  

I am so, so proud of and touched by the women of Ons Hekel, of how they came together when a fellow member suffered utter heartbreak.  

Image: Ons Hekel

Katinka's daughter Anja was scheduled for open-heart surgery during December.  She mentioned it on Ons Hekel and asked for our thoughts and prayers.  She updated us throughout, on the day and afterwards and we were so happy with Anja's recovery.  Anja even posted a message afterwards on Ons Hekel, to thank everybody for their prayers, and told us how it encouraged her mom.  

And then she died. 

Suddenly, unexpectedly, of an aneurism.  

Ons Hekel was collectively devastated, even though only few might have met her.  

But the loved poured in, and then someone suggested hooking a remembrance/comfort blanket for Anja's mom.  Her sister Erica offered to coordinate and assemble the blanket, and we started to hooked 20x20 cm squares, with some purple in it, as it was her favourite colour.  A postal strike got in the way, but some members collected squares and couriered it to Tolwe, a tiny speck on the South African map.

The first batch received by Erica

Squares are coming in from all over the country, Namibia, Australia, Ireland.  This is just a small selection posted on Ons Hekel:

I am astounded by how people can get so involved in another's pain, and try to be of comfort for her mother, family, husband and three little kids.

That's the type of we friends we make through hooking. 

Image: Ons Hekel