In 2016, thanks to the generosity of Lutherans all across the United States, Lutheran World Relief shipped 534,144 Quilts & Kits to 16 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. That's amazing!
We give thanks to all the quilters and kit-makers who gather throughout the year to assemble these gifts of love for our brothers and sisters around the world. We invite you to share this poster, highlighting where quilts and kits went last year, with your entire congregation.
Here are just a few of the places where your hard work, dedication and compassion made a big difference.
School Kits in Honduras
In 2016, an estimated 28,485 children received School Kits in Honduras through our partners, Children's Gift Ministries and OLAM Honduras. At least half of these school kits were distributed through local churches in the communities, while a small percentage were distributed to children of prisoners in local jails, children at orphanages and kids at local schools. Thanks to your support, it is possible for many of these children to go to school, including Wilian and Wilson who are now able to go to kindergarten because they have school supplies (source: Children's Gift Ministries).
Quilts in India
Quilts are an essential in the cold months in places like India and Nepal. Our partner, Church's Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) distributed 49,500 quilts throughout India in 2016. The quilts were distributed to leprosy patients in Uttar Pradesh, blind children who attend the School and Rehabilitation for the Blind in Madhya Pradesh and other vulnerable populations. Anchal Ramesh is 6 years old in 1st grade and has an older brother and older sister (both in boarding school in Uttar Pradesh). Her mother does household work in Saharanpur in and near the leper colony and has to support her three kids. Your quilts have helped families like Anchal's stay warm in the cold winter months.
Personal Care Kits in Peru
LWR has been working in Peru since 1979 on projects, related to food security, climate change adaptation and crop development, with partners such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Gold Fields La Cima S.A.A. and CEDEPAS Norte. People might wonder, do the Quilts & Kits we make with loving care ever become a part of our long-term development projects? The answer is yes! In Hualgayoc, Peru, school children received Personal Care Kits in a recent distribution at their school and their teachers used the kits to reinforce the important message of hand-washing and personal hygiene. These lessons tied in with another project that LWR is working on in Peru to help bring dairy farmers to world class standards, which involves hygiene when milking the cows.
The wonderful members of the Quilt and Kit-making community contributes so much to our overseas partners. Their stories of carefully constructing various kits and quilts with their families and friends are woven with the stories of the recipients.
Thank you for your generous contributions to the needs of hundreds of thousands of people overseas in 16 countries. To learn more about where your Quilts & Kits went in 2016, download a PDF of the table or order the Quilt & Kit Poster for 2016.