Читать книгу The Danish Octo Book: How to make comforting crochet toys for babies - the official guide - Литагент HarperCollins USD, Ю. Д. Земенков, Koostaja: Ajakiri New Scientist - Страница 7
ОглавлениеThe group was founded in 2013, and today the Octos it collects are distributed to every neonatal unit in Denmark and Greenland. It all started with one squid-obsessed dad whose daughter was born premature, and who then turned to a crochet blogger to ask whether she might be able to create a little squid for his daughter.
In the hospital where his daughter was being cared for, the staff soon noticed that the little girl was clutching onto the squid’s tentacles rather than all the wires and tubes inside the incubator, and that she seemed calmer and more secure.
Soon afterwards, two volunteers named Jeanette Bøgelund Bentzen and Mia Clement started crocheting squids for the neonatal units at three hospitals. Just nine days later, the Danish Octo Project was born. Today it has around seventeen ambassadors (not to mention countless octopi!), and word of the group’s history and work has spread overseas. There are now Octo groups in a host of countries around the world, including Sweden, the UK, France, Spain, Luxembourg, Holland, Belgium, Romania, Argentina and Canada.
All members of the group – including the main coordinators, ambassadors and webmasters – are volunteers, individuals with a burning desire to make a difference to the lives of premature babies and their families. As well as the core group itself, volunteers crochet and knit cute squids and jellyfish before sending them to the ambassadors.
The group’s work consists of collecting and then washing and packing the Octos before delivering them to neonatal units. A stay at a neonatal unit is often long, and marked with progress and setbacks. A playful, colourful Octo can bring vibrancy to a harsh, clinical incubator and give some much-needed encouragement to the baby’s family.
Over twenty-two thousand Octos have already been donated to hospitals across Denmark.
