At the start of the Ukraine war, Lesley, a Member of the IW Club of Plimmerton, discovered a friend in Scotland had begun knitting teddies for the children of Ukraine refugees arriving in the UK.

The idea appealed to Lesley, so she floated the idea of knitting teddies in Ukranian colours to all her friends, including the ladies of Plimmerton Inner Wheel.

Lots rallied to the cause and when it became evident that no refugee families had yet arrived in NZ (apart from those joining families already established here) teddies started to be made in a kaleidoscope of colours.

At a recent IW meeting, the Club had a guest speaker: Jacqueline from ChangeMakers Resettlement Forum, an organization that works in conjunction with the Red Cross. Jacqueline was presented with all the teddies and undertook their distribution to arriving refugee children.

Hopefully, the teddies will give each child a little comfort combined with a welcome to NZ as they begin a new life here.