Deborah Richardson

So my first reaction was I wanted to send him money and he quickly told me he couldn't accept any because of the corruption laws over there.

And we had a call together and I said, Yuri, I want to do something for the kids.

I said, I knit.

Can I do something for the children?

And in that moment, he said yes.

And so I went, okay, not even thinking what it was going to be that I was about to do, but created a pattern.

And I ended up calling them instead of teddy bears, I named them Yuri Bears.

And I originally started knitting them myself.

I ended up making a thousand myself personally.

And I just launched it initially into my local community and said, anyone want to help?

Not even thinking about how I might even logistically get them over there.

But very quickly, Sarah, very blessed and lucky to have worked for Ryman Healthcare at the time, Aged Care and Retirement Living.

50 villages across Australia and New Zealand.

And I went to them and said, I've got this crazy idea.

Will you support me?

And we had so many people that loved knitting in those villages.

And we just had this wave of love and support.

And every time I'd walk into a village, they go, we've got this many.

Are we beating the village next to us?

And how many have they got?