The Soweto Comfort Club (SCC) is a charity whose aim is to help the people of Soweto. Started three years ago, its mission has been to uplift parishes in Soweto by serving the tens of thousands of underpriveleged people who live there. Many of these people are affected by HIV AIDS. As a result of HIV AIDS, there are great numbers of orphaned children. SCC began by collecting and distributing such things as kitchen equipments, curtain, bedding, clothing, toys and books for the people of Holy Rosary Parish in Phiri, Soweto. They also started a soup kitchen. Their newest mission is the Knit-a-Square project. Its first goal is to supply a blanket for every child in need in the Phiri Parish. After that, they hope to expand this project to the rest of Soweto, nearby squatter camps, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa.

That goal may seem unachievable, but an 8" x 8" square is easy and cheap to knit and send. The women of the Soweto Comfort Club are committed to the project. There have already been enthusiastic responses from knitters in Australia, UK, USA, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The first squares left for Soweto from Australia on October 19, 2008 and arrived in early November.

As an outreach beyond our community, we will partner with SCC to provide 8x8 inch squares that will be used to make blankets for orphans in Soweto. Please take one of the 8 inch squares on our bulletin board. The square provides information knitting or crocheting a square.

DON'T KNIT? HATE TO CROCHET? If you would like to help us with these projects, we will be happy to accept donations of yarn! Feel free to donate "scrap" yarn that you have leftover from other projects that we can use for the Knit-a-Square Project or purchase new skeins of Caron Simply Soft Eco yarn (available at Walmart for $2.47/skein) for our Warm Up America! project. We will also be happy to accept monetary donations to use towards mailing knitted and crocheted squares to South Africa. Thank you!