Teddies for Tragedies (Essex Branch)

Update: See the Gazette article of Wednesday 25th January 2012 - click here

The first teddies went out to the Sudan in 1986, sent by WRVS workers to where the Emergency Care for Children nurses were setting up a temporary orphanage in a refugee camp for some 2,000 children with TB. The teddies were such a success that more were requested. Someone then sent out shoe bags and these were a roaring success as the children then had something to keep their one and only treasure in (this being the only thing they had ever owned).

One doctor said that the teddies did more good than medicine. “Cheer the children up, give them hope and you are on the road to putting them right physically!”

Teddies for Tragedies came to Ramsden Bellhouse in 1994 when my daughter gave me the pattern for a teddy which was printed in her Church Magazine. I started to knit the teddies at various local clubs I belonged to and people were very interested in what I was doing and asked for a pattern. I thought I was only giving them to people in the village; little did I know they were passing the pattern on to friends and family far and wide.

In the first year some 3,000 teddies came in to me and I just delivered them to a lady in Guildford, having no idea where they were going from there.

In 1995 I was asked to run the Essex Branch, which meant I had to find the outlets abroad or elsewhere. I contacted various charities and the new Essex Branch really took off. Since then, over 272,500 have been distributed in 56 countries, including hospitals and homes in this country.

I then decided I wanted to send more than the teddies and started to collect clothes in the village from friends and neighbours, to send to adults as well as children. I then got people knitting jumpers, cardigans, hats, bootees and blankets. Little did I think that knitting a teddy would lead me to visit war-torn Bosnia in 1997. Apart from the terrible state of the buildings and many traumatised children, there appeared to be no colour anywhere, so when the beautifully knitted or crocheted blankets, often done by the residents of Ramsden Bellhouse, get to areas such as this, to wake up to a lovely colourful blanket must be wonderful. I’ve also visited India twice, Rwanda and Romania, finding many distressing situations.

Toiletries are always in short supply. We now collect 500gm margarine boxes and fill them with a face flannel, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste and the little shampoos etc. that are often given in hotels. Many people in the village save these for me. These are mainly sent to Kosovo on a convoy that leaves here twice a year, as well as to Zambia.

In 2009 I was asked if I could knit clowns as, apparently, the children in Kosovo have a particular liking for them. The teddy pattern has now been converted to make clowns and so far well over 1,000 have been distributed in Kosovo and Sri Lanka. Leading up to Christmas we fill shoeboxes to go out to Eastern Europe for under privileged adults and children. This year 450 boxes were filled, bringing joy and happiness to many who, but for the boxes, would receive nothing at Christmas.

We help sponsor children in Africa to help give them an education and a chance in life. This costs £180 per annum, but I have devised a scheme whereby 10 people help part sponsor one child at only £18 per year. I need a few more part sponsors so, if you can help, please contact me.

Here in Ramsden Bellhouse we have a group of ladies who meet weekly to put the teddies in their bags (no teddy leaves me without its own bag). They meet in Isabel Johnson’s home and have a lovely social time together whilst helping me in the process. As I’ve been heard to say, everything that goes on is a team effort. I had the honour of meeting the Queen in 2007 when I was awarded the MBE, which I accepted on behalf of everyone who helps and supports the charity.

Gazette article - Wednesday 25th January 2012

Audrey sends teddy bears all around world

Gran has dispatched 273,500

"I THINK I must be keeping Royal Mail in business," Audrey Pegrum said, surrounded by the fruits of her labours. In the garage of her Ramsden Bellhouse home are a dozen green sacks, each stuffed with 90 hand-knitted teddy bears, ready to be delivered out across the world.

The Teddies for Tragedies project began in 1985, and helps organise local groups to produce and distribute the bears to needy youngsters in areas which need them most.
Since Audrey, 76, began in 1995, she has sent out 273,500 teddies, and the total is still going up.

Full-time

Audrey said: "It is a full-time job organising it all. I get e-mails and letters from all over and reply to everyone. I talk on the phone to people who are helping out for hours at a time. I'm like an agony aunt sometimes. But it's nice making friends. I have a lady who lives in the Yukon in Canada who makes teddies and brings them over with her. She tells me about the snow out there, and I imagine her sat by the fire knitting away."

From orphanages in eastern Europe to remote villages in India, the brightly-coloured teddies have brightened up hundreds of thousands of children's lives. Audrey has also expanded into making clowns, which are particularly popular in Kosovo and Sri Lanka.

Audrey, a grandmother and member of St Mary's Church in the village, started her extraordinary work when her daughter Heather showed her a church newsletter. She said: "She gave me the leaflet and said, 'mum, can you knit this?' I gave it a go, and a friend stuffed it for me. It all went from there."

She has since found an army of willing volunteers ready to help, with WIs, church groups, social clubs and many others all working on thousands of bears a year.
Audrey also sends out other aid, such as boxes of toiletries and blankets, second-hand clothes and shoes. She also gets groups of people to club together to pay £180 to sponsor a disadvantaged child for a year. She said: "We take so much here for granted. But a small thing can mean so much to someone who has nothing".

Blessed

"I'm so blessed here, it's good to do something to help others." Audrey has travelled to many of the places she has helped, including India, Bosnia, and Rwanda. She said: "It is incredibly moving."

Originally from Laindon, Audrey has lived in Ramsden Bellhouse for 59 years, and is a popular figure in the village. She was nominated for an MBE in 2007. She said: "I've had to slow down a bit now. There was a time I was doing three talks a day to encourage new volunteers. But there's still plenty going on."

If you would like copies of the teddy, clown, jumper etc. patterns, please contact Audrey Pegrum.
Telephone: 01268 710757 Email: audrey.pegrum@btinternet.com