Changing the World: One Square at a Time

The teenage dream: movie marathons, sleepovers and pizza, but most importantly, knitting. At the annual Knit-a-thon last Friday, over 70 Sha Tin College students dressed in their pyjamas, and knitted diligently for 24 hours in their bid to keep those who are less fortunate warm.

Hosted by STC’s largest extracurricular club, the Knitting Club, the 24-hour event took place overnight from the 19th to the 20th of February. According to event coordinator Miranda Garralda, the aim was to ‘knit as many squares, beanies, and wearables as possible to send off to KasCare, a charity organisation which delivers our products to the millions of children in orphanages across Sub-Saharan Africa’. This new approach to supporting non-profit organisations is an extremely effective one which ensures that vulnerable children in southern Africa living in dire poverty, are able to stay warm and be loved – basic necessities we take for granted. It allows us to have a direct impact on the lives of many, and contribute to making a world a better place.

“Knitted products are a currency we use to tell the children exactly how beloved they are. We tell them they are the future, unique and special.” – KasCare

This year, the Knit-a-thon set a new school knitting record, where over 140 knitted squares were patched up within the course of the 24-hour event. On top of the amount of squares knitted by students, the event also raised over 25,000 HKD for the charity, completely exceeding expectations.

Squares knit by students. Photo: Samantha Harlow 13D2

“It was a very unique and fun experience,” exclaimed Laura Chan of 10X1, “We had a Shrek movie marathon, ate lots of food, and slept on the floors of our form room – I never thought that contributing to make our world a better place could be this fun! I’m definitely joining again next year.” Many other participants agreed with Laura’s sentiment, commenting on the well-organised nature of the event, and the enjoyment derived from knitting to make a difference.

Students exhausted from knitting. Photo: Ms Rowlands

The event was also an occasion for our school’s senior students to hone their much valued organisational abilities. “Leading this incredibly rewarding project that taught me the importance of working hard with good intentions, and the importance of being on good terms with your team members,” said Miranda Garralda. “Thank you to Yee Lok, Sam, Lisa, Annabel, Christie, Michelle, and Elspeth for being such great individuals to work with!”

Special thanks to Ms Rowlands, Ms Ryan, Ms Ducie, Ms Marshall, and Ms Liu and the leading students who have put so much effort into organising the 24-hour Knit-a-thon; not to mention all the student participants and teacher supervisors involved in this meaningful event!

Martha Chow, 10X1