Twice this year members of GranAurora met with Sharon Gusz who led us in a mat weaving activity. Angela Kesthely launched Milkbags Unlimited after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Angela headed a team making mats for surgery tables, beds, and table covers.
In the last six years mats have been woven and sent via Dr, Simone to almost 22 countries, including Sub Sahara Africa. Some members of GranAurora saw the correlation in the two charities and offered to weave mats.
The mat weaving now serves both global and local needs as a number of mats were given to people living on the streets.
So much plastic is just discarded and ends up in our lakes and rivers killing wildlife and fish as well as adding toxins to the water. Milkbags are used because they are coated with a substance that prevents mildew. Colourful and easily managed, strips of Milkbags can also be crocheted into lovely and practical bags. Besides saving the planet from an overflow of plastic in landfills, Angela and the team realized that entrepreneurial enterprises could be created, giving people in developing countries a way to earn a living. GranAurora members volunteer at times to weave the mats, realizing these help Grandmothers in SubSahara Africa as well as people at home.