Beautiful handmade vests, hats, baby blankets and booties cover the table at a meeting of a local knitting circle for immigrant women, as members admire one another’s work.
The group, run through Abbotsford Community Services (ACS) multicultural and immigrant services, brings together immigrant women in Abbotsford who take donated yarn and create unique, handcrafted projects that will be given back to others through the local food bank and hospital.
The group started meeting on Mondays in November of last year at ACS’s west Abbotsford offices.
Andrea Dykshoorn, co-ordinator of the ACS Community Connections program, said many immigrant women are often seen by society as “unskilled workers,” but when you look at their knitting abilities “it’s incredible.”
She said finding work is a matter of opportunity and can be difficult for immigrant women. But through the knitting group, they get to use the skills they have to help others, as well as connect with the community and work on their English language proficiency.
Bhupinder Banbheru has been attending the group since it began. While she didn’t know all the women when they started the group, “now we are all friends.”
Banbheru said in India, where she was a teacher, she led a very social life. Now she does seasonal work picking berries and the knitting group gives her an opportunity to meet with people through the year and do something at which she excels.
The program is open to newcomers. They are also in need of donations of any available yarn or wool that can be used for the projects. Donations can be dropped off at ACS’s headquarters (2420 Montrose Ave.) or by contacting Dykshoorn at 604-217-3055 or host@abbotsfordcommunityservices.com.
