WATCH | Stunning! The giant Madiba blanket that warmed our hearts

27 April 2018 - 09:30 By TimesLIVE
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South Africans volunteered their hands - and their knitting skills - to produce a 7‚000 square metre portrait blanket in honour of former president Nelson Mandela this week.

The blanket, which was big enough to be seen from space‚ was unveiled at the Zonderwater Maximum Correctional Centre on Tuesday.

The portrait was put together using more than 4000 blankets that will be distributed to the less fortunate around South Africa.

The department said in a statement the initiative offered value to inmates: "Crocheting does not only give inmates a sense of pride‚ but also has therapeutic value for offenders with significantly large psychological‚ and social‚ benefits which can improve their wellbeing and quality of life. It also offers them a great sense of purpose to give back to communities they harmed."

A 27km scarf will also be rolled out at the Mandela Capture Site in KwaZulu-Natal on July 29. 

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