Carnia grandmothers knit to fund projects in Africa

Rosalba still remembers vividly when she suffered from hunger, delivered bread to the homes of the rich and couldn't touch it: for her, the most there was was a plate of polenta. Gina worked for up to 15 years alongside her father in the fields. Maria never stopped crocheting, an activity which, as she says, .

Rosalba, Gina and Maria are three “grandmothers of Carnia”, the mountainous area of ​​North-East Italy, located in the northern part of the region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, near the Austrian border. They grew up among woods, vineyards, fields, pastures, and small villages, but they never forgot the solidarity that is gospel in these areas, even though they have now experienced prosperity.

Thanks to their manual skills, passed down from mother to daughter, these women use the ancient knitting technique to make hats , socks, small sweaters, and jumpers. All products are then donated to the Ivo de Carneri Foundation and sold to fund projects in Africa. First and foremost, wells for drinking water , which is lacking in areas with large populations of children.

Among the many wells built in Africa, thanks to the knitting of the grandmothers of Carnia, there are also those built on the island of Pemba in the Zanzibar-Tanzania region, one of the most neglected by the local government and international organizations, and also one of the most affected by infectious and parasitic diseases. Here, thanks to the work of the grandmothers of Carnia, near the N'Dagoni school, a well has been built that provides drinking and bathing for 1.600 children . This is the pride of the Friulian women who remember well when they were children, eating polenta diluted with potatoes and unable to even afford fresh loaves of bread.