May 15th, 2025, 4:46pm MDT
Through Uruguay, more and more women are working as hard as they can to bring comfort to their children with palliative care.
Palliative care is a caregiving approach that optimizes quality of life and alleviates the suffering of serious, complex illnesses, or terminally ill patients.
“Las Liebrees, Tejiendo VÃnculos” (“Hares, Weaving Links”) is a group that works freely to help families in need where children are in hospitals, offering basics such as blankets and food.
The group is a shares of de la Costa Uruguay, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was created by Gabriella Vega of the San Jose de Carrasco district.
Many children receiving palliative care are not expected to survive, Vega explained, but they still deserve comfort and care. “Even if he or she is sick, the child is still a child.”
Thus, Vega is part of the Relief Society’s global initiative for women and children, and she seeks to help people in her own field.
“Our desire is to provide support, love and comfort as our Savior does during this painful and challenging time for our children and their families,” Vega said.
In Thiago’s memory
The story of Vega’s efforts actually began when her first grandson, Thiago, was born with a genetic disorder known as Trisomy 13 or Patau syndrome. He needed certain attention and attention, and his family spent much of their time in hospitals, including in the US.
Thiago suffered from a seizure and never spoke or walked, but he said “13 wonderful years” before he passed away three years ago. Vega’s husband passed away 10 years ago from a neurological disorder.
“After living these experiences, we believe that life is meaningless if we can’t learn and help others, so it’s always been in my mind that we can help palliative care in pediatrics.”
In July 2024, while Vega was working in the primary in her ward, the children modelled the Montevid Uruguay Temple. Ten Relief Society women helped create crochet dolls representing temple workers and worshipers.
The women were then motivated to continue serving. In December 2024, as part of the Church’s World of Light Initiative, the woman made bags for palliative care children at Pereira Rossel Hospital.
The bag included a rectangular knee pillow, a U-shaped head control pillow, a crocheted sensory cube, and a picture book that Vega wrote about thiago, socks, and some food.
“Family gratitude was the best Christmas present,” Vega said.
Growing through service
In January 2025, the group grew to 35 women.
“We proposed the name “Las Reeveless or “noisy” for the speed the sisters are weaving, or the Tehiendo Vincross, or “weave links.”
In the next few months, more women heard about the group and participated from all over the country. Vega said the group now has more than 150 women. They are divided into zones along with the leaders of each zone. Some are members of the church, while others “a sister of other religions who share a desire to serve and show love to those who are suffering.”
When they served together, non-Latter-day Saint women learned more about the church and its teachings. When President Russell M. Nelson announced the Rivera Uruguay Temple in April 2025, they were delighted with their members.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the restored gospel preached in South America, and many Latter-day Saints in the Southern region of South America served for others.
To mark these 100 years, Las Reeveless women achieved their goal of making 100 blankets for wheelchair palliative care children. As more women joined the group, they doubled their goals. Currently they are up to 500.
“With them, we can’t cover the needs of every country, but we will continue to work,” Vega said.
We have ample reuse and recycling of materials
Women are knitted quickly and crocheted, so it’s starting to get enough yarn to spare. They began reusing and recycling the materials they already had to make blankets for their children.
For example, they take old sweaters, unravel them, wash and steam the threads, dry them, and roll them into bowls to reuse them.
Meanwhile, rural women donate wool from sheep, and turn it into thread and woven into a loom. “We’re learning this new spinning technique,” Vega said.
They also employ donations of thread and materials to help them reach palliative care children across the country, but most of the time, women in the group spend their own materials and money.
“Women often say, ‘We’ve made a contract to give our time, our talents and all of our things to help God’s children,'” Vega explained. “I testify that they are women of faith. They always say: “When we serve with all our heart, the Lord will provide us and help us.”
When they don’t have enough, suddenly a new skein of wool, more material, or monetary donations appear.
It is the hand of the Savior
The group has achieved its goal of hosting three major projects this year. From January to May, they made blankets for their children, but they also consider the children, especially the mothers. “Let’s take care of those who care,” Vega said.
In Uruguay hospitals, there is no heat or bed for guests in the patient’s room, so Las Libres women make blankets, scarves, shoes and shawls to keep their mothers warm and comfortable.
In addition to creating blankets and pillows comfortably from June to August, women will be working on palliative care toys for children.
They know that many people will die, and they have already seen it happen. However, women want to make the time of children on Earth as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
From August to December, women plan to continue to consume blankets, toys and food to families in need at public hospitals around the country.
“We know that the Savior’s love appears in all the smallest details. Today we have the privilege of being in his hand,” Vega said.
