A girl from Fishguard is on a mission to sell as many knitted goodies as possible to raise money for Diabetes UK Cymru.
Freya Rands, 10, is knitting colourful hats, scarves, headbands and mittens in memory of her cousin Liam Jones.
Liam was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 20 months old, and sadly passed away in 2016 at the age of 21 after falling ill with Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), a life-threatening condition requiring urgent medical attention. Signs of DKA can include high blood glucose levels, thirst, frequently going to the toilet, feeling tired or lethargic, blurry vision, nausea or vomiting, and collapse.
Freya has been knitting for a year and sells her wares for between £2 and £5 per item at her parent’s fish and chip shop Hooked@31 on West Street in Fishguard. It takes her between an hour and two days to complete each piece.
Freya said:
“My nan taught me how to knit and I really enjoy it. It’s nice to be doing something that isn’t watching TV or playing with a phone. I take my knitting to school and knit with my friends at playtime, it’s really fun to do it all together.
“I decided to knit for Diabetes UK Cymru because I want everyone to remember my cousin Liam and to help people to understand what Type 1 diabetes is. Headbands are my favourite to make because they don’t take long and people really like them. I’ve sold lots of knitted goodies so far and I have to knit really fast now because people keep buying them. I love being able to donate money to Diabetes UK Cymru and it makes me happy that I am doing this for Liam.”
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition that affects around 20,000 people in Wales. People with the condition don’t produce the hormone insulin, which is responsible for controlling the amount of glucose in the blood. Nobody knows what causes Type 1 diabetes and it isn’t currently preventable.
Joseph Cuff, Fundraising Manager at Diabetes UK Cymru said:
“We’re so grateful to Freya for the time and effort she has taken to knit her goodies, helping us to raise funds and awareness that will help others living with diabetes in Wales, and their families. It’s inspiring to see someone so young making such a great effort to celebrate her cousin’s life and we wish Freya the best of luck with her fundraising.
“Every penny raised will help us to support the millions of people living with diabetes in the UK so please pop in and help Freya to reach her fundraising goal by buying one of her knitted treats!”
