(Aerial photograph by Peter
Morey)
The 3,133 square metres of handmade blankets knitted ,
crocheted or quilted by the knitwits of 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day has
broken a Guinness World Record – it is the largest area covered by a blanket!
An ecstatic Carolyn Steyn, Founder of the 67 Blankets for
Nelson Mandela Day, said, " Beyond my wildest dreams imaginable, this
is our goodwill congratulations South Africa !"
April 21, 2015, will be remembered by many as the day the
Union Buildings in Pretoria was turned into a carpet of colourful blankets all
through the dedication of this team of knitwits from every corner of the
country. Knitwits and volunteers worked late into the night to ensure the blankets
were laid out and presented correctly for the judging of this record breaking
event.
This Mandela Day initiative celebrates the ethos and the
legacy of a man who united South Africans in a time of uncertainty and was a
true testament to that, seeing thousands of hand-crafted blankets made with
love and compassion. The blankets will now be distributed to the needy before
the cold arrives.
Sello Hatang, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation added "This
is a very proud moment for all involved and it shows we can survive anything
that comes our way including inequality and xenophobia ".
This project which won the South African Campaign of the
Year in 2014, celebrated its first anniversary in January and has attracted
knitwits not only from South Africa but globally, and they heeded the call to
“take up needles and hooks” to make blankets to keep people warm. There are
groups not only in South Africa but also the USA, India, Australia, Belgium, Canada,
Germany, Cyprus, London and in the Netherlands.
The following organisations have generously supported this
project : Cell C, Airlink, Stuttafords Van Lines, Saprotex, Juandre
Distributors and Huawei.
For more information, visit Facebook: www.67blankets.co.za; Twitter:
@67Blankets or contact 0617 67 67 67
67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day was voted as South
African Campaign of the Year 2014