Afghans for Afghans: Winning the Hearts and Minds of a Proud People
Want to Help Knit a War-torn Country Back Together? Here's How Afghans for Afghans Helps
The knitting community has always reached out to those in need, and if there's anywhere that really needs our help these days, it's Afghanistan. This small Muslim nation has faced trouble of one kind or another for more than 30 years.
First they had to deal with a Soviet invasion that took years of guerilla fighting to repel. Then the Taliban took over, forcing Afghanistan into cultural and economic stagnation.
Since 2001, Afghanistan has been a major battlefield in the global War on Terror. Today, Afghan society is a patchwork of hunger, poverty, oppression, and low-level conflict. All that, and they still have to face brutal winters, often without enough shelter and warm clothing. But determined knitters can help fix that.
AFGHANS AS BLANKETS, AFGHANS AS PEOPLE
Enter the grassroots charity known as Afghans for Afghans. Americans have been knitting comfy blankets we call "afghans" for centuries. In 2002, during a blanket drive to help the Afghan people, San Francisco resident Ann Rubin hit upon the idea of sending afghans back to the country they were named after.
Within a few months, she and her friends had collected several hundred. A second drive yielded over 900 items, including articles of clothing -- and their efforts snowballed from there. These days, Afghans for Afghans regularly meets its goals of 5,000 items per drive.
GETTING INTO THE SPIRIT
Are your knitting fingers itching yet? For more details on how you can help, take a look at the Afghans for Afghans website.
Afghans for Afghans especially needs woolen baby blankets measuring 40 x 30 inches, baby hats 10-15 inches in circumference, and baby socks for feet 2.5-3.5 inches long. Other welcome items include mittens, sweaters, hats, socks, and vests of all sizes.
In deference to Muslim beliefs, please don't decorate your items with images of people or animals; don't include any national or religious symbols either. Limit yourself to wool or wool-rich blended yarns.
The colors are up to you, but remember that it's harder to keep lighter colors clean, and your item needs to be hand-washable. Green, a holy color in Muslim society, is especially popular.
LET'S GET BUSY, SHALL WE?
While you can knit to almost any pattern for your charity items, Afghans for Afghans offers a range of Afghan-themed knitting patterns for $7.00 a pop (three for $15.00). They use the money to support not just the charity, but also women's literacy classes in Kabul.
In addition, Afghans for Afghans volunteers get a free crocheting pattern for their own use called "Vanna's Choice," which is an attractive blanket design created by celebrity Vanna White.