Medical supplies for Guatemala

Kirk members traveling to Guatemala in January 2008 plan to visit Hospitalito Atitlán in Santiago Atitlán, Sololá Guatemala to learn more about the hospital’s needs and to bring supplies the hospital requests in its wish list. The Kirk’s handwork circle is sponsoring a drive to provide medical supplies for our Guatemala mission team to take with them.

Medical supplies

Hospitalito Atitlán maintains a wish list of medical supplies. The hopital requests that we send only the supplies on their wish list. You can find the wish list here: Wish list.

If we collect more than the mission team can carry to Guatemala, the extra supplies will be donated to Alliance Medical Ministry, a local clinic that provides affordable primary medical care to low-income, uninsured, working families in Wake County.

Red newborn caps

Among the items on Hospitialito Atitlán’s wish list are red infant caps for newborns at the hospital. The handwork circle is making a special effort to make and collect red newborn caps. Why red? In Guatemala red is the color of good luck. Infants wear red caps to ward off evil.

The handwork circle has two patterns (pictured here) for knitted caps. Each pattern uses half a skein of red Lily Sugar ‘n Cream 100% cotton yarn:

Stockinette stitch cap

Stockinette stitch cap on straight needles

Crochet cap

How can you help?

We invite Kirk members to participate in this drive in any of the following ways:

• Drop off items from the hospital’s wish list in the alcove beside the elevator.
• Knit red caps in cotton yarn and leave them in the basket in the alcove.
• Provide red cotton yarn for knitters to use. The patterns we are following use Lily Sugar ‘n Cream cotton yarn in red, but we will be happy to improvise with any red cotton yarn you have on hand. We request 100% cotton only please.
• Come knit with us at Wednesday Night Live beginning November 14. Location to be announced.

Handwork circle members will be knitting caps in the alcove beside the elevator beginning Sunday, October 28. Stop by to drop off medical supplies, yarn, or caps; pick up yarn or patterns; or learn more about the medical supply drive.

To learn more about Hospitalito Atitlán, visit their Web site at http://www.puebloapueblo.org/ha.html.

To learn more about Alliance Medical Ministry, visit their Web site at http://www.alliancemedicalministry.org/index.htm.