Belated News Update!

Life has taken over (predictably) and it's been a long time since I've posted about the project - rest assured the Bear Necessities knitting project is still going strong. Here's what we've been up to:

November 2016

At the end of last year with over 100 bears ready to be handed out, we took the decision to include them in Christmas Shoe boxes which also contained face cloths, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, a small packets of sweets and crisps. Again I was overwhelmed by the support given to this drive. Our initial aim to raise the funds or receive donations of contents for 80 boxes was surpassed in just days and we raised the bar to 100 boxes to include all of the bears that we had available.

Children with their Christmas Shoe Boxes at Chintsa East Primary School

Yay! Chirstmas time at Ikhwezilomso Pre-school in Chintsa

A huge thank you to local businesses who donated towards the project: Baobab Design, Cintsa Thatching, Emerald Vale Brewery, The Hearth Art Studio, Prana Lodge, Sarah May Floral Designs and Tea in the Trees.

Special thank you to all of the individual donors who made the boxes a success and to the team of wrappers and packers who joined us on 27th November to put the boxes together. The Christmas Show Box drive would not have been a success without you!  

Right Now!

We're collecting bears for the next big bear hand out! If you want to get involved get your knitting needles out! Check out the simple bear knitting pattern to get started. You can also support us by donating towards to shipping and customs charges to get the bears from overseas to South Africa. Contact Friends of Chintsa to find out how to do this - admin@friendsofchintsa.org

A special mention to Lynne Price for her support and help to keep the Bear Necessities Project going.

Thanks again to everyone for their continued support :)

127 Bears Handed Out - Just in Time for Christmas

The past week has been a successful one for the Bear Necessities Project - we've managed to hand out 127 bears to foundation phase children in the wider Chintsa area, just in time for Christmas.

Children at Mzwini with their new friends

The first bear drop took place at Mzwini Daycare Centre in Mooiplaas where 60 knitted animals were delivered. The drop included some special creatures including stunning knitted elephants, mice and hippo's from supporter Julie Hoolie in the US, and 13 fun festive toys made by the grandmother of volunteer Nicole who recently passed away. Nicole was a part of the bear drop at Gwegwesha Pre-school in 2014 and wanted to ensure that her grandmothers stunning toys went to loving homes.

The second bear drop saw the African Angels foundation phase classes each getting bears at the end of the school term. 67 bears were delivered there in total - photos to follow!

I want to say a huge thank you to all of the Bear Necessities knitters - it's amazing to receive support from so many corners of the world - plus the team who facilitated the drop off and Mzwini. Thank you for supporting the Bear Necessities project :)

Bears, Bears, Bears Everywhere!

Apologies for such a delayed update on the Bear Necessities Project! We're still up and running and going strong - here's the latest news:

Latest Bear Hand-Outs

8th December 2014 - the lovely Lynne (I Left my Heart in Africa) and Sal (Buccaneers Backpackers) together with a team of little helpers created a fabulous teddy bears picnic for the youngest learners at Chefani School. The children enjoyed juice and a few sweet treats before taking their new friends home for the Summer holidays :)

3rd March 2015 - a team of Bear Necessities supporters including myself and my mum Sue (visiting from the UK - star knitter of bears ;) ) visited Ngxingxolo Preschool in the Mooiplaas village to deliver bears and sandwiches to the children at the school. A little overwhelmed by our presence the children tucked into their sandwiches and then joined in with a few songs and games. When we left some tried to give us their bears back not believing or understanding that they were theirs to keep and take home with them. It's always quite special for me when the official "hand out" is over and the children are playing and getting on with their own thing, bear in hand. As we drove away from the school I spotted a little boy on a bike with his bear riding in front of him - priceless :)

What's Next

Bears are coming in thick and fast - there are 30 ready to be handed out and another 50+ waiting for labels sewing before they are delivered. These bears will be handed out in the fourth term before the Summer holidays - keep an eye out for pictures of the hand-outs on this blog!

Thank you

As always, a huge huge thank you to all of the knitters, sewers, delivery ladies, sandwich and juice makers and everyone involved in this project. It wouldn't happen without you all.

Big Bear Hand-Out at Gwegwesha Pre-School

There were 33 bears remaining in the "pool" of bears from earlier this year - in August this year we partnered with a preschool in the wider Chintsa area called Gwegwesha. The preschool is a tiny school run by a husband and wife team with little to no support from the government, with 35 children and one small classroom.

A team of volunteers who were volunteering with local organisation VA32, visited the school to hand out the bears, which were really appreciated by the kids!

With a new school year beginning in January and bears still rolling in thick and fast, look forward to news about the next phase of the project asap!

A massive thank you to all the knitters for their time, creativity and commitment :)

The Big Bear Hand-Out

After several months of knitting, lots of wool shopping, lots of stuffing and sewing with creative and patient knitters - the day has finally come to hand over the Bear Necessities bears to the kids of Chintsa East Pre-school!

The Plan

Excitement from the children as they ran
to the sports field for the picnic :)

Thursday 20th Feb was marked as the day for the Bear Necessities first hand-out - with a little planning and some inspired ideas from Friends of Chintsa administrator Kate and VA32 volunteer Charlotte we were good to go; a short walk from school and sing-along to the Chintsa sports field where our knitters and support crew would be waiting with picnic blankets, bears, sandwiches and juice. Teddy Bears picnic! :)

The Hand-Out

The morning went swimmingly well with lots of support from the Bear Necessities crew, local businesses, Friends of Chintsa and Volunteer Africa all involved.

The walk to the field from school with teacher Phumla,
volunteers Charlotte, Deyse and Nadine 

Preschool teacher and local hero Phumla
explaining the day to the children

Check out some of these great photos of the morning and the pre-schoolers with their new bears:

The kids really loved their new friends and had a great time feeding them sandwiches and playing football with bears in hand. Phumla's preschoolers showed their appreciation with song, dancing and two BIG cards to say thank you for their bears.

A HUGE thank you to everyone involved in the project: to all knitters (both local and international); to local businesses Tea in the Trees, Prana Lodge, the Chintsa Village Bistro, Buccaneers Backpackers, Volunteer Africa 32 Degrees South and Tracy Norris Photography; a special thanks to Kate for organizing blankets for the picnic, Sarah for baking cakes, setting up with Kate and making picnic sandwiches, to Nadine for taking time off to take pictures and share them with us; to Friends of Chintsa for being so supportive of the initiative and giving so much help and support in organizing both the initiative and the hand-out event.

What Happens Now?

Our total bear count was 76 completed bears before the hand-out with a few more bears in progress! We handed out 43 bears and so have 33 left to give. The next step is to work with Friends of Chintsa to choose another preschool, work out how many bears they need and organize another hand out.

Keep posted for more updates and the next Big Bear Hand-Out!