Stories from the mission field inspire baby blanket drive

Mary Haskett
Special to Spur Ottawa

When most people think of missions, baby blankets aren’t the first thing that come to mind. A few years ago, on a medical mission trip to Malawi, Dr. Robert Yelle saw how much the simple gift of a baby blanket can mean.

Yelle was helping a local physician set up a rural medical clinic. Most of his family came with him to volunteer at an orphanage and pharmacy nearby.

“It was fun to be part of a medical team, working in the pharmacy and helping weigh the babies,” says Marika, Yelle’s daughter. “It was my first time in a developing country. Before I went, I sewed baby blankets for newborns and one mother walked four kilometres, carrying her two-day-old baby, in order to get one.”

Yelle, a family physician from Kanata, takes time every year to serve in the mission field. This past November, he was preparing a return trip to Malawi, but before he left, the story of the baby blankets sparked some spontaneous generosity.

Yelle’s mother-in-law, Connie Snoek, shared with her Bible study group how there had been a shortage of receiving blankets on the last trip. She also shared the story of the mother walking so far, only two days after her baby was born.

Although Yelle was leaving in only a few days, the women at the Bible study decided they would buy as many blankets as they could for his trip.

“Whenever a request like this comes in, I try to put myself in that position. What would it be like to welcome a new baby into the world with only a rag or two instead of a warm blanket?” says Linda Roth, one of the ladies who participated. “My little grand-daughter was a newborn, so I could imagine it in a very real way.”

Roth says there was no question about whether they should be involved or not. Their only challenge was to find good quality blankets and buy as many as possible, in time.

Linda Hache, another participant, says when she heard the need, she thought, “this is something I can do to help those little babies.”

“I am on a fixed income and cannot donate a lot,” she says, “but I can buy a couple receiving blankets. It was very easy and it felt personal, because I know the person taking them to Africa.”

At the end of November Dr. Yelle flew to Malawi, where he operated the clinic while his African counterpart took further courses to enhance his skill set. Among his luggage was a case full of receiving blankets.