Children in Ukraine contribute to relief sale quilts

Mennonite Central Committee
Saturday, 7 October 2000

Quilt blocks created by former street children in Ukraine are now part of a "full circle of material resources." The blocks were shipped from the Ukraine to the United States and stitched into two quilts by volunteers in Ephrata, Pa. The quilts are now being displayed at Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) relief sales across North America.

The children, who live at the Shelter of the Good Shepherd in Makeevka, have received MCC-donated canned meat, clothing and school kits. MCC service workers Cameron and Corinna Kroeker teach them to sing, sew and cook.

"They are given to, and they were giving back," said Leone Wagner, MCC's Material Resources Center (MRC) manager. "It was a full circle of material resources."

Wagner delivered materials for the blocks on a trip to the region. Corinna Kroeker helped the children create designs with fabric markers.

The idea for the project came from Lois Flickinger, the MRC quilting room supervisor at the time, who wanted to add an "international flavor" to the relief sale quilts, said Wagner. One of the quilts will be sold a relief sale, and the other will continue to circulate to share the children's story.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org