Comfort Bears for Children in Need

The Beginning

At a school meeting in Hobart, Tasmania in 2001 a lady from Sydney described how she belonged to a group that knitted trauma bears for every child admitted to the Children's Hospital in Sydney. She posted the pattern to the Sai Volunteers. Knitting and making of bears for children in hospitals then began.

Name Change

In November 2003 it was decided to change the name from ‘Trauma Bear’ to 'Comfort Bear' as "comfort" more accurately described the purpose for which the bear was intended.

Three of our knitted comfort bears and information on this service were included in the Australian Exhibition held at the Chaitanya Jyoti Museum, Prashanti Nilayam, in October 2005.

Love in Action

The following is a report from an Australian Sai devotee distributing our bears at the Maharagama Cancer Hospital, Children’s Ward, Colombo, Sri Lanka: "One child in particular, a girl, perhaps 6 years old, was lying in bed, frail and in pain. Her eyes were closed. When I stood by her bed and placed a pink teddy bear beside her, she opened her eyes and clutched the bear, a momentary smile appeared on her face, then she closed her eyes and returned to her struggle. These children are not just sick, they are close to death, and the teddies help them to forget their pain".

"Cultivate love, kindliness, and the spirit of selfless service and encourage all thoughts of cooperation with others. See the Divinity in each one, as you must see it in your own selves." Sathya Sai Baba, 12 July 1978.

Distribution

Australia, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, PNG, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam. Total as at 30/6/14: 2349 bears (Australia 1263, Overseas 1086)

The final word

"I'd like to say a big thank you to all the volunteers who knit toys for children in Hospital. Recently, my 18-month-old daughter was hospitalized and given a knitted teddy bear. It made her smile despite her trauma, and we'll treasure it forever. So congratulations to whoever made my little girl happy." (Jannai)

A Contributor who knits writes:

The bears I knitted individually by myself  were done at home with love, whilst watching TV with my husband, just to keep him company, as I am not a TV addict and in this way, it helped me to keep knitting, and sit through the program,  during the interruptions with TV advertisements etc. I also knitted during my spare time, instead of having "nanny sleep breaks" during the day, as I usually get tired easily looking after 3 teenage grand-children, after my daughter passed away 2 years ago now.  It helped me to get over my sadness and also to keep me awake and gave me a good feeling to know that my knitting helped others, giving thanks to Our Lord, for bestowing this skill to me, because not many younger people know to knit these days.    It is hoped that this love is transmitted to them, and it will warm their hearts with the fragrance of universal  love.

Further developments

Members of Sai Medical Unit have been providing voluntary free medical service in rural Fiji for many years. A great number of children from very poor families also come to these camps to seek medical aid. Out of love for these children, it has been suggested (and agreed to by the Sai Medical Unit) that we provide comfort bears to these children. 105 bears were shipped to Fiji on 24 June 2014 for distribution at the forthcoming Medical Camp in Fiji during August 2014.

Additional Info

Patterns for knitting the comfort bears are available. To obtain the patterns, visit the Sai Australia website and send an email using the contact page. A Sai Volunteer will get back to you with the knitting patters and assist with any help needed.

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