A woman from North Shields has started a heart-warming project to help provide some comfort to children who have been forced to flee their home country.
Ann Wright, 66, is knitting teddy bears to give as a welcome present to Ukrainian refugee children arriving in the UK. A regular knitter and crocheter, retiree Ann previously made bears for NHS key workers during the pandemic.
Ann was moved to pick up her knitting needles for a good cause once again after watching events in Ukraine unfold in the news. “I was just so upset with what was happening in Ukraine, and I felt so helpless.” Ann recalls.
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“Being a grandmother myself, I just couldn’t comprehend that that could be my grandchildren. I wanted to give them some love - and these little bears are full of love.”
Ann set up the craft project with the help of her daughter Charlotte to provide bears for children coming from Ukraine to the North East. They were inspired by the Judith Kerr novel When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, which tells the story of a Jewish family fleeing Berlin and was one of Charlotte’s favourite books as a child.
“I could not stop thinking about everything children are forced to leave behind,” Ann says. “I wanted to do something extra for those that have lost everything.”
The bears are knitted using the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag, and are all unique in appearance. Each bear takes Ann around eight hours to make, and she has personally brought 16 bears to life so far.
Ann and Charlotte set up a Facebook group in March, ‘Hero Bears for Refugee Children’, to encourage others to get knitting their own bears at home. She was taken aback by the incredible response from other knitters, with people across the region quickly joining in with the project.
“I have been absolutely overwhelmed,” Ann says. “I thought I’d end up making as many bears as I could, and just giving out a few. But I’m just so proud of everybody. And everybody's so pleased with their bears - they’re taking such pride in them.”
The project has spread along the North East coast, with knitters and crocheters in areas including Whitley Bay, Cullercoats, Seaton Delaval and Blyth getting involved so far. With people starting to take interest outside of the North East, Ann hopes that it will become a UK-wide project to help distribute bears all across the country.
Their Facebook group now has over 100 members, who have so far made 60 bears between them. The bears will be sent out to people who have signed up to host Ukrainian refugees through the government’s Homes For Ukraine scheme, so that they can be given to children when they arrive at their new home.
Ann and her fellow knitters recently sent off 50 bears to Newcastle City Council, who have been working closely with the group to ensure that the bears go to the homes of local people who have come forward to host Ukrainian refugees.
“I hope it will show that we are thinking of them, and what they’ve lost,” Ann says of the children who will soon receive the bears. “What they’ve gone through - they are all little heroes.”
Ann is encouraging more people to get involved in the project - and whether you’re a dab hand at knitting or crochet or are completely new to the hobby, she assures that anyone can join in. “If I can do it, anybody can do it,” she says.
For those who would like to help but may not have the time or resources to make bears of their own, Ann says that the group would benefit from donations of wool to ensure that knitters can keep making bears. Ann is also urging those who have signed up to host Ukrainian refugees to get in touch if they would like one of the bears.
Newcastle City Council is encouraging anyone who is interested in finding out more about hosting refugees under the Homes For Ukraine scheme to get in touch with them by emailing ukrainesupport@newcastle.gov.uk.
