The Bábóg Project aims to gather 6000 dolls. One for each of the estimated number of babies said to have died in Ireland’s former Mother and Baby Homes. The aim is to acknowledge that every child is a precious gift and deserves to be loved and cared for. (https://www.thebabogproject.com/)
I have decided to make 2 dolls for the project, small enough to fit into the palms of my hands.
As I sit and sew, I pay tribute to each infant who was born precious and worthy of my time and attention.
I believe everyone who makes a doll goes through a personal journey. A journey of loss and hope. A journey of sadness and letting go. An endeavour to bring closure to grief unspoken.
What is a mother's personal grief?
It is when you see your child suffering and you wish you could be the one suffering in his place instead. It is seeing your child go through a myriad of experiences that could either make or break him and all you can do is offer that emotional, spiritual or physical support. But you can't carry his cross.
It is when you see your child making bad choices and your heart screams, 'Don't do that, don't go there' but you can't do anything because he chooses to go there and all you can do is to just watch him go and hope that he will be set free from the trap that ensnares him.
It is when you see your child caught in the crossfire of another's anger, prejudice and hatred, through no fault of his own, just because he is born of a different colour or of a different gender.
It is when you see your child falling through the cracks and ends up being on the other side of the law and his young life snuffed out like a flickering flame.
As I hold the tiny dolls in the palms of my hands, I am reminded that God has carved us on the Palms of His hands. (Isaiah 49:15 )
The finished dolls will be gathered together by the Bábóg Project and will form part of a travelling exhibition before they reach their final resting place.
And I am humbled to be part of it.
