Play Date for Haiti

by Susan Semeczko

photography by Bev Andersen

On a beautiful crisp, clear day in March, members of the Oakville, Ontario, Quilters' Guild gathered together at The Oakville Museum for a workshop to make quilts for the children of Grace Children's Hospital in Haiti. The hospital is supported by a local family practitioner, Dr. John Yates, who has been working in Haiti for decades.

“I am a patient of Dr. Yates and I have taken my inspiration and guidance from him about what we could do to improve the lives of these poor, vulnerable people. He was delighted to have such a practical gift offered to him” says Bev Andersen, Workshop Coordinator. 

The Grace Children’s Hospital in Port-Au-Prince treats children who suffer from tuberculosis and HIV, both terrible diseases, even in ideal conditions. Seventy percent of the hospital was destroyed by the earthquake in January and the children have been receiving treatment in tents ever since.

“A lot of the children of Haiti have nothing and we wanted to give as many children as possible the gift of a hug from Oakville, because that’s what a quilt is really, something that lets you know someone cares,” says Co-Workshop Coordinator, Charleen Doan.  

“This was our way of making a small difference to the lives of these children. Everyone donated their time and fabrics and the Oakville Museum donated the rooms for us to sew in and we are very grateful to them for that. We made very simple quilts, so that all of our members, including the beginners, could participate. We also made sample quilts for them to copy,”

“Quilters are very kind and generous people and their response to this tragedy has been overwhelming. The Guild regularly supports local charities but this was even more urgent. Our goal for this workshop was to make 70 quilts to give to the hospital. We have made close to 175. To say that I am delighted is a real understatement,” says Susan Semeczko, President of the Oakville Quilters’ Guild.

“We are a small Guild of about 100 members and three quarters of them made quilts for Haiti. Most made more than one. I am so proud of our members for embracing such a worthy cause. It even became a family affair for one of our members, Margaret Langlois, who encouraged her 10 and 13 year-old granddaughters to sew these easy quilts. These two young girls made 5 quilts in a day, using grandma’s fabric. This next generation of quilters were so proud to be able to help children who are less fortunate than themselves. Margaret Burnett, a brand new member of theGuild, made 17 quilts and was apologetic that she didn’t have time to make more,” says Susan.

Guild members who weren’t able to attend the workshop brought completed quilts to the Guild meetings over the next few months. The Guild also donated the proceeds from its monthly 50/50 draw to the hospital.

The Oakville Guild quilts are light enough for children to use in the tropical summer, as they have been made without batting in them but will provide some protection from the elements.

“The quilters all chose very bright and colourful cotton fabrics so the children can’t help but be cheered when they see them,” Bev believes. “These children are used to very strong sunlight unlike most of us in Canada, so there was no such thing as being too bright. It was a great chance for us to use up some of our stash on such a worthy cause.”

“The women made a variety of pieced quilt tops.  We made simple 4 patches using 18 ½” squares or nine patches from 12 ½” squares or 6 ½” strips pieced together in rows. We then used a 36” square of fabric as backing and sewed them together, with the right sides facing, leaving a gap to turn it right side out. They are more like coverlets than true quilts with batting, but it’s what was needed at the hospital so that is what we made,” Charleen continued.

At the Guild’s May 2010 meeting, Dr. Yates was invited to speak to the membership about his work in Haiti. He told the women about the devastation caused by the earthquake and how much the quilts were needed for the hundreds of children he treats on a regular basis at Grace Children’s Hospital.

“We are one of the few facilities which treat children with both tuberculosis and HIV,” he said. “Tuberculosis is almost unheard of in Canada these days, but it is still quite common in Haiti.”

Dr. Yates had no idea what a quilt Guild did. “I didn’t know it was a world wide phenomenon and I am overwhelmed by the generosity and talent of quilters. People like you keep us going.”

“Dr. Yates really opened our eyes to the suffering in that country. To raise even more money for the hospital, the Guild held an auction of 11 baskets of books, fabrics, patterns and notions, generously donated by Guild member Dawne Rudman, which managed to raise close to $700.  Each basket had a particular theme. Children, Cottage Life, Winter, Animals, Wildflowers, Architecture, Quilting 101 and Quilting 401 were some of the ideas we came up with. The women went on a bidding frenzy because the money was going to such a good cause. It was such a fun night for everyone,” says Bev.

“The members really opened their hearts and their wallets and for that I’ll be forever grateful. Seeing a child in Haiti with a quilt from our Guild and seeing their beautiful smiles just made my heart sing. We all feel so connected to these children now in a way that just sending money could never have done. The quilts all have love sewn into them.”

Some of the members of the Oakville Quilters' Guild

Haiti-bound quilts