Knitted goods from the Aran Islands of Ireland are famous
the world over. Aran knitwear has graced the high fashion catwalks of Paris,
Milan and New York City. But a few months ago a very special truckload of Aran woolens
traveled 1,512 miles to an orphanage just outside Minsk, the capital of
Belarus. All last year, residents of Inis Oírr (don’t ask me to pronounce any
of this), the smallest of the Aran Islands, from the nonagenarians right
down to the four-year-old girls and boys in naíonra, (that's kindergarten), wielded their bioráin cniotála (knitting needles) to produce scarves,
gloves, sweaters, hats and socks for orphans and disabled children they will
never meet. In December the final stitch was made and the needles were put
down. Some 400 colorful and cozy items were shipped in time for Christmas Day
to Belarus, where the temperature can drop to -20 degrees (Celsius, of course).
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