Sant Bani School knits Hats for Rwandan Babies

Infant mortality due to hypothermia is not something that we read about too often in our local papers. In the mountainous Burera district of Rwanda, this unfortunate circumstance happens far too frequently. This fall, Partners In Health (PIH), the Boston-based organization featured in Tracy Kidder’s 2003 bestseller Mountains Beyond Mountains, put out a call for knitters to help provide a hat for each baby born in the Burera district hospital. PIH stands out for its unshakable commitment to community-based healthcare, doing “whatever it takes to make our patients well—just as we would do if a member of our family or we ourselves were ill.”

Sant Bani School foreign language teacher, Jen Schongalla, heard about this project and thought it would be a good service project for students and faculty. The Sant Bani community has volunteered for PIH for many years. Students, staff and alumni have helped raise money for PIH through the annual Urban Walk for Haiti and by working at the Mooseman Triathlon and donating all proceeds to PIH.

Schongalla recruited fellow foreign language teacher, Karen Ulmer-Dorsch, a master knitter, to create a few hats that would fit an orange (for premature babies) and a grapefruit (for full-term babies). Within days the trend caught on and students and staff were busy sharing patterns, knitting and crocheting hat after hat in many colors and sizes.

School librarian, Mary Ann Sanborn, suggested holding a “knit-in” during lunch once a week to reinforce the fun of knitting to any students and staff that wanted to bring their lunch and knit with others. Many students and teachers, including complete beginners, attended the lunchtime knit-ins. Proficient knitters of all ages helped to get the beginners going, and many students who had never knit before completed at least one hat.

To date, the Sant Bani “knitting posse” has made over 250 hats to send to Rwanda. There are 17 students and 3 teachers signed up to knit a second shipment in January and February. Many Rwandan babies will now don warm hats to hold in their precious body heat thanks to an enthusiastic and caring group and the support of the school community.

For more information about Partners In Health, visit www.pih.org. To participate in the knitting project, contact Jesse Greenspan at jgreenspan@pih.org or feel free to join our effort by bringing your knitted or crocheted hats to Sant Bani School. PIH’s work in Rwanda was featured recently on NOW on PBS. A rebroadcast is scheduled for next week. To watch the show online, click the link from PIH’s home page.