Urney ladies helping Zambian orphans

IT’S not often that a failed attempt at a world record could be hailed as a success, but that is exactly what happened for a group of crafty local ladies.

Six years ago the group of crafters who meet at Urney Presbyterian Church Hall started to join textile hexagons together, in their bid to help with a North-wide project to make it into for the Guinness Book of World Records with The NI Big Sock.

However when the project went belly up, the local group with left with a conundrum: Loads of colourful material with nowhere for it to go.

“Unfortunately the project was not completed and the group was left with approximately 14m x 10m of joined up hexagons,” group member, May McGee explained. “Members subsequently decided to make quilts of varying sizes to use up the material, hoping that they would eventually be used in a deserving cause.”

After much searching for an outlet for their vibrant quilts, they contacted Gareth Hayes from Hope DropInn of Newtowncunningham in Donegal, who said they would gladly accept the quilts for a young girls’ home in Lusaka, Zambia, which had just recently opened.

“Wonderful timing,” continued May. “The group recently met with Pastor Gareth and Pastor Elijah who runs their Hope Mission in Lusaka. We spoke to members of the work they were undertaking and how they were also supporting children in the Street Orphan program they run in Zambia, providing food, shelter and pastoral support.

“The group were delighted to be able to present 20 quilts to Gareth and Elijah, who assured everyone that the quilts would be taken to Zambia as soon as possible and given to the young girls as their own personal quilts. This was a wonderful outcome for all concerned.”