A quilt is a type of blanket, traditionally composed of three layers of fiber: a woven cloth top, a layer of wadding, and a woven back. Quilts are pieced together from several layers of cloth by stitches. In Mennonite tradition, volunteers are working together, creating quilts for world relief. Their skills and talents so make an impact around the world.
Three Mennonite groups in Switzerland are making quilts for Syria, where more than 7.5 million people are internally displaced and over 12 million need assistance. Swiss Mennonite churches worked with congregations in France to ship one container of relief supplies to Syria through MCC in January 2013. The shipment contained 1,500 hygiene kits, 65 hand-made quilts, 294 purchased blankets, 791 relief kits and 144 pairs of hand-made socks along with other supplies like towels and sheets. They are now collecting contents for another.
Since quilting is not a traditional craft in Switzerland, people wondered why the group would use small squares for the comforters instead of making simpler blankets. “People thought we were crazy,” said one participant. Others said they should “just take a duvet cover or a wool blanket” or put big pieces together and be done.
But she told her church that the small details are significant. “I said for people in war it’s important that we make a nice blanket. It’s important that they realize that it’s something beautiful that people made for them.”
Throughout the sewing process, quilters often think about Syria and why the blankets are needed. Those thoughts stay with many group members even when they are not cutting fabric or tying quilts. “What particularly reinforces this thinking about it throughout the week is that one refugee woman is in our group, who’s from Syria, and we know what this war means for this family and for her and we see how they suffer even at a distance.”
Quilting is a way to show compassion for those who are suffering, even from a home in Switzerland. “It’s an opportunity to live my faith. It’s not just a construct of ideas, it’s something that is practical. To live the love that we talk about.”
