The Moving Journey of 48 Quilts From Marin County to Bodh Gaya, India
Women and children in communities from Mill Valley and Tiburon, Ca., joined hands to sew warm quilts for vulnerable children in Bodh Gaya, Bihar. These children were abandoned at the local railway station and are being educated, counseled and rehabilitated by OWCF grantee, People First Educational Charitable Trust.
Martha Cliff, an OWCF supporter, had made a site visit to People First with her family a few years ago and was very moved by their efforts to educate children who lived on the railway platforms. She teamed with Chyah Weitzman, an art teacher at St. Hilary School in Tiburon who has led several quilting projects, to bring a group of quilters together to sew blankets for children in Bodh Gaya. Chyah worked with her K-8 students at St. Hilary School, who drew their self portraits on a muslin cloth that were stiched lovingly on the quilts by the women. The beautiful quilts (48 of them!) were flown to India by Mallory Moser who volunteered at People First and spent time with the children and painted their classrooms.
