Campaign nothing to scarf at as warmth grows on trees

It's not money but scarves that will be growing on trees next month.

On July 13 colourful woollen scarves will be hanging off branches in parks around Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg; they will be wrapped around lampposts, fences and poles in Port Elizabeth, Pretoria and Pietermaritzburg.

On each scarf is a label bearing the message, "I am not lost. If you are cold and need me, please take me."

The thousands of knitted garments left in public places around South Africa for those who can't afford to keep warm are part of the Secret Scarf Mission.

It is the initiative of philanthropist Carolyn Steyn, the woman who created the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day campaign in 2013. The 67 Blankets movement has become a worldwide phenomenon, with Italy the latest country to come aboard - in Assisi people have begun knitting blankets for refugees; in London blankets are knitted for the homeless; and in the US girl guides donate their handmade blankets to war veterans.

"Knitwits" as the makers of the blankets refer to themselves, are also active in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Cyprus and India.

In 2016 the project took the Guinness World Record for the Largest Crotchet Blanket in the World. It measured more than 17000m².

"We love our blanket coverage," said Steyn. "But while the blankets are being distributed we don't want to put down our knitting needles, so in 2015 I said, 'Let's see how many scarves we can churn out by July 13, ahead of Mandela Day'."

She said the Secret Scarf Mission had tripled in size in the past three years.

"We have far more ambassadors than we did in the past, each coordinating a particular area. For example, for the first time we have an ambassador in Bloemfontein."

Lindiwe Mnguni, an office manager in the Department of Local Development has created a knitting crusade in Bloemfontein. She said that when she joined less than a year ago she didn't know how to hold a crochet hook. "My first scarf was a crooked mess," she said.

On becoming an ambassador for the 67 Blanket drive, she enlisted her work colleagues, friends, neighbours and pupils at local schools.

"We are hoping to have 300 scarves," said Mnguni, "We have 100 already but I know there are people who are hiding their scarves."