The staff, together with the patients (older women), at the Day Centre for the Protection of the Elderly of the Municipality of Ptolemaida (KIFI) in Greece, decided to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease through an event, inspired by the online community of "Random Acts of Crochet Kindness", whose main purpose is to share small acts of kindness daily by giving away handmade gifts randomly (specifically, little figures called “worry dolls”). The concept possibly dates back to the traditions of the Mayans in Guatemala, where they used to weave dolls that would absorb negative energies and worries, providing peace and rest to their owners.
The children especially would whisper their fears into their dolls’ ears and place them underneath their pillows so that they may sleep peacefully and protected and leave their worries behind when they wake up the next day. The event aimed to emphasise the significance of giving and to promote the intergenerational aspect of the centre, so the team and patients at KIFI decided to weave their very own “worry worms” which were gifted to the centre's friends at the PS14 Kindergarten of Ptolemaida. After the women attending KIFI had woven the worry worms, they decorated them and packaged them, along with a poem they had written as a group.
On 28 September, having finished with the preparations, the group visited the kindergarten, where they were welcomed with arms wide open. To start with, they introduced themselves to the children, who then wanted to know how the women spend their time at the KIFI day centre and how it was back when they used to go to school. They then explained to the children the meaning of the worry worms, read their poem and they got to choose their own individual worry worm. Before leaving, their new, young friends showed the group their gratitude and affection by gifting each woman from the centre with a handmade heart, sealing their newfound friendship.
