One Square at a Time: Burundi Impact Story

Sister Godeberthe with some of the children from an orphanage in northern Burundi who were happy to receive a donation of wraps from Wrap With Love.

For Alice, a warm wrap feels like hope

Who could ever imagine that a simple woollen wrap could mean so much in the life of a child?

For Alice, 10, who lives in an orphanage in the central African country of Burundi, a wrap made with love by strangers who live thousands of miles away feels like hope. It reminds her there are people who care about her and want to her succeed in life.

Alice is one of 1,160 vulnerable children in Burundi's Muyinga Province provided with wraps by Wrap With Love's caring Australian volunteers in 2019.

Over the last 15 years, World Vision has distributed around 150,000 Wrap With Love wraps to vulnerable children and families in countries including Afghanistan, Burundi, Malawi, Somalia, Iraq, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

Now we're inviting Spotlight customers to join this special partnership and help show a little love to children in need by making one square at a time. In this time of isolation, it's a meaningful way to provide practical support to those in need.

All you need to do is knit or crochet one or more squares and drop them off at your local Spotlight store. Wrap with Love volunteers will then stitch the squares into wraps to be delivered to vulnerable children and families in Australia and around the world by partners including World Vision.

Alice is the youngest of four children. When her mother passed away after a short illness, the children were split up to be cared for by different relatives. Alice and her older sister went to live with their maternal uncle. But after being mistreated by his wife, they decided to run back to their father.

By this time, their father had already remarried, and the girls were rejected by his new wife. They were treated poorly and had to leave school because their stepmother refused to pay their school fees.

Seeing the girls' plight, some neighbours intervened and asked a nearby orphanage to take the children in.

Orphanage manager, Sister Godeberthe, explains that her team do all they can to take good care of the children, but they have few resources and rely on the goodwill of the local community to feed and dress them.

Keeping the children warm at night has been an ongoing challenge. Alice and her big sister tried to keep each other warm, but they often shivered through the night like many other children who live at the orphanage.

Last year, Sister Godeberthe shared her concerns for the children's health and wellbeing with staff at the local World Vision office and asked for their assistance.

This help came in the form of 160 Wrap With Love wraps which were received with excitement and huge smiles by Alice and her friends at the orphanage.

The colourful wraps now adorn the children's beds in their shared dormitory. The sisters sewed them together by two to provide double warmth and comfort for the sleeping children.

"I no longer shiver at night when I sleep," says Divin, echoing the experience of many of the children.

For Alice, who missed out on the warmth of those who should have loved her, the wrap provides the same kind of warmth that she feels in the arms of Sister Godeberthe, who welcomed her with love.

A gifted student, Alice is now back in school, doing well and has a bright future in front of her. She recently advanced to the next grade with a pass mark of 88.3 percent.

Please join us in spreading the love even further, one square at a time.