There is an expectation in America that once a person becomes elderly they quietly slip into invisibility. Without work and children to care for, the elderly often enter a half-life devoid of purpose. People no longer acknowledge them on the street, nor do they raise their heads, look into another's eyes and smile. Therefore, when I read about a group of women living in Springtree Assisted Living Center who were making dolls for children in Darfur, I wanted to know more.
The project began when Denyse Duda, a former nurse and missionary, saw a TV report on the children of Darfur that shook her heart. "It showed naked, skin-and-bone babies in cribs. They need water, clothes, medicine, food—they need everything. My heart was bursting. I cannot offer my arms because now I am here. I decided if I make soft dolls, the little ones could cuddle with them. They could be put against the baby's cheeks which would be a little drop of love for them."
Duda made the first doll that night and showed it to Linda Forrest, the recreational activities director at Springtree. She wanted the residents to make 1000 dolls for Darfur. "You must be crazy," Linda said. "One hundred would be something, but 1000 done by the people here?"
"You make it happen," Denyse requested, and amazingly, Linda did. She involved kids from the local high school who created a simple pattern for the dolls and made the first 96.
Linda then learned that some residents used to sew but had dementia. Nevertheless, she put them in front of the sewing machine and miraculously, they remembered. A woman with Parkinson's, whose hands shake so bad she cannot hold a cup, discovered her hands stopped shaking while she sewed. Linda found residents to trace the pattern, sew the dolls, and stuff them. Even arthritis couldn't hold them back.
Two thousand dolls have been made. Through Linda's efforts, the community has donated money, and materials. The project, called Dolls for World Peace, has become an intergenerational effort as disabled adults, girl scouts and people from the homeless shelter have joined them in making dolls. In helping others, the women of Springtree have found a reason to get up every morning. They are more alive, more confident, more filled with self-worth. They now want to send the dolls to children in refugee camps throughout the world. Their dream is for other senior living facilities to join them in making the dolls. Their magic is in making the invisible visible once more.
Dolls for World Peace is in need of funds to help ship the dolls to refugee camps and to pay for the materials. If you'd like to make a tax-free donation or learn how your organization can become involved, please contact Linda Forrest at (954) 572-4261. Checks can be mailed to Dolls For World Peace, 4201 Springtree Drive, Sunrise, Fl. 33351.