A Quilt for Malawi

A few weeks ago, I was contacted about a special quilt for a special cause.  The quilt is inspired by the children’s book When the Rains Come, published by Polygon and written by award-winning author Tom Pow. When the Rains Come weaves together a folk tale from Malawi and the story of three young children who must be looked after by their Grandmother. The story is beautifully illustrated by Malika Favre and depicts both the joys and hardships of daily life in Malawi.

Rachel Edwards (left) and Julie Julie van den Driesche  (right) with their quilt “When the Rains Come”

 

Inspired by Malika’s vibrant illustrations, two Edinburgh based quilters, Julie van den Driesche and Rachel Edwards decided to make a quilt to raise funds for MUMs (Malawi Underprivileged Mothers).

It is made from fabrics from Malawi and will be on display in Purely Patchwork in Linlithgow in April and at other venues throughout Scotland from April to September. The quilt will be raffled at £1 a ticket, to raise money to support the MUMs feeding programme. Apparently, a single pound will provide a daily meal for two children, five days a week, for an entire month.

If you can help this worthy cause, please contact Linda McDonald (lindamcd@blueyonder.co.uk) to arrange for ticket books and further information to be sent out. Although sometimes the difficulties of the world can seem overwhelming and that there is little we can do about them, occasionally, just having a vision and getting on with things can make a big difference to other people’s lives.  MUMs is one of these inspirational stories.  It was set up in October 2005 by Linda McDonald after hearing and seeing photographs of a government run maternity hospital in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. Since then she and her team have been instrumental in raising over £500,000 through sales of the MUMs recipe book series and private donations.   Please help if you can.