The first thing 93-year-old Murrae Scott did after an unsettled sleep was open her birthday cards; then she picked up her knitting needles in an effort to bring joy to lonely children in Ukraine.
The Dunedin woman is one of many knitters making small cuddly bears to be added to care packages.
Mrs Scott said she was desperate to help the people of Ukraine in some way, but had no idea how to do it.
That changed when one of the workers at Frances Hodgkins Retirement Village, where she lived, introduced her to the Yuri bear initiative.
When she got started she could not stop. She had almost finished 18 bears.
She kept thinking about the lonely children and wanted to bring them some joy.
"I couldn’t help it."
Even though she had woken at 2am on the day of her birthday, she wanted to make use of that time by finishing some of her bears.
She had seen first-hand what an impact a knitted friend could make.
She encouraged them to name their bears and keep them around as company.
They all enjoyed having the bears around and became more sociable as a result.
She knew the children in Ukraine who needed a friend right now would have a similar experience with the ones sent to them.
She was "not the world’s fastest" knitter, nor the "most expert", but she could give those children a little bit of fun, which she was very proud of.
Each bear took more than a day to finish.
She taught herself to knit when she was expecting her first child.
Each bear would be accompanied by a handwritten note.
Ryman Healthcare corporate affairs manager David King said the bears would be collected and sent to Auckland next month, where they would be shipped to Ukraine, added to care packages and distributed to those in need.
