Durban’s Knitting Grandmas Wrap Vulnerable Children in Comfort and Teddy Cuddles

Photo Credit: Supplied by Rowan Phillips (Domino Foundation)

Armed with needles of love and decades of skill, Durban’s knitting grandmas have handcrafted blankets and cuddly teddies to remind vulnerable children that someone out there cares.

Durban, South Africa (30 October 2026) – As a young 14-year-old girl, Marjorie Jack recalls seeing how her mother, Mrs Turner, often had to prepare dinner for her father long after she had been tucked into bed to accommodate his shift work, or wake up in the early hours of the morning to send him off with a good breakfast under his belt well before the sun made an appearance.

Little Marjorie had a strong sense of wanting to be part of her mother’s domestic schedule and, so, would perch on a chair, learning the basic skill of knitting in the kitchen while Mrs Turner multitasked and tended to saucepans on the stove.

Seven decades on, Marjorie fondly remembers how she managed to wield her knitting needles to put together a small jacket for her newborn brother.

“And I haven’t stopped knitting since!” she shares.

Marjorie, together with a bevvy of other ladies at Garden View Tuinsig retirement home in Durban, has been hard at work lately, surrounded by skeins of wool of many hues donated anonymously, crocheting baby blankets and knitting a slew of teddy bears that will soon reach vulnerable children who could do with all the comfort they can get.

Tuinsig’s knitting brigade donated the results of their handicraft to The Domino Foundation’s Babies’ Home, as well as to collaborative partners Baby Line, which provides counselling and support services for mothers in crisis, and to Early Childhood Development centres partnering with Domino.

Marjorie said that she and her fellow knitters were intentional about adding colourful knitted hearts to each teddy to remind each young recipient that even though life may not always have been kind, someone out there cares.

“When I think of the little people who are going to cuddle these soft toys, I want them to know that our gift comes with love,” shared Marjorie.

The basic lessons learned as a young teen who wanted to help her mother around the home not only stayed with her, but have sparked an act of kindness that has created the cosiest, most thoughtful gifts that will bring a special touch of joy and comfort to deserving little people.