Celia heading on European journey of self discovery

BRINGING WARMTH: Celia Carman, co-ordinator of Masterton's chapter of Operation Cover Up, will travel to Eastern Europe, to meet the families who receive the blankets her group knits.

For Celia Carman, making warm, colourful blankets for impoverished families living in near-glacial conditions half a world away was not enough -- she had to see those families in person.

Mrs Carman is co-ordinator for the Masterton chapter of Operation Cover Up, an international charitable project which provides hand-knitted blankets and garments to people living in the grip of poverty and civil unrest in Europe's Eastern Bloc.

Late next month, Mrs Carman will get to meet those who benefit every year from her group's simple act of charity, and experience their gritty living conditions up close.

She and a small group of New Zealanders will tour Eastern Europe, visiting the orphanages, families and refugees who receive the blankets each year.

For Mrs Carman, the trip will be "an interesting exercise", as it's her first time out of New Zealand.

"I've seen the pictures and heard the stories -- but I have to see with my own eyes," she said.

"I've heard it's easy to get broken down by all the poverty, so I'm having to steel myself."

Mrs Carman revived the Masterton Operation Cover Up chapter in 2013 -- after discovering a "huge pile" of blankets at St James Union Church, which she attends.

When the original chapter disbanded, some of its knitters had kept going, storing their creations at the church.

"At first I thought, 'these blankets are beautiful'.

"Then I thought, 'how awful, they're going to waste'."

Mrs Carman's September trip will involve tours of Moldova and Ukraine, still reeling from the war in Donbass.

She said the majority of families live in "unimaginable poverty", with little to protect against the coming winter -- set to bring temperatures of minus 30 degrees.

"They are the poorest of the poor.

"They have no warm clothes or blankets, their houses aren't insulated, and not many can afford firewood.

"People have asked me if they'll be able to wash the blankets, but so many houses don't have piped water."

Her group will also visit children in Moldovan orphanages -- many of whom don't have adequate bedding -- and Ukrainian refugees who have fled armed conflict in the east.

"A lot of them escaped with absolutely nothing.

"There are hardly any jobs, and thousands are living on the streets -- especially the elderly, who are considered non-people."

While Mrs Carman predicts the dispiriting conditions will be hard, she is cheered she will be meeting those whose lives have been blessed by the extra warmth.

"I've seen pictures of people receiving our blankets, and they're staggered.

"One woman in Bosnia said she never thought in her wildest dreams her family would have enough blankets to keep warm in winter.

"And all because a group of women in New Zealand sat down, and got their knitting needles out."

Mrs Carman said she is "excited, but nervous" about the trip -- especially as, at 80, she will be the eldest on the team.

"I'll be the old lady -- hopefully I can keep up with these people in their 40s.

"It should be a journey of self-discovery."