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Nanny Raiha
The soft click of knitting needles and the sound of her mum’s favourite playlist are memories Bev Cassidy-MacKenzie treasures.
“When Mum and I sat knitting together, it was peaceful,” she says. “Even when her memory began to fade – mum was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2021 – her hands always knew what to do. It became her purpose — to get up, get ready for the day and then do some knitting.”
“I’d put a video on, or a playlist with all her favourite music, like Dolly Parton and Freddy Fender. Sometimes she’d just start singing the words – songs she hadn’t sung for a good three or four years.
“All of a sudden, a memory would come back — of her and my dad who had passed 30 years ago. So we’d see all these little spikes, and I’d think, gosh, this whole knitting thing is just so positive.”
Bev and her mother Lisa Cassidy — affectionately known to many as Nanny Raiha — knitted baby blankets for local hospitals, up to 20 a month. When her mother passed, Bev wanted that quiet rhythm to live on — and to share it with others.
Drawing on her corporate background, Bev and her whānau set out to make the experience of knitting — and the sense of purpose it brought — accessible to others. With support from their wider whānau, they reached out to friends and connections to create the first knitting packs.
From that collective effort, the Nanny Raiha Charitable Trust was born — a tribute to Raiha and to the kindness that grows when communities work together. The Trust now provides free knitting packs across Aotearoa, complete with wool, needles, patterns, and links to online tutorials for those who need a little guidance. For those who aren’t able to knit, colouring-in packs can be ordered.
Each completed baby blanket is donated to local maternity units and hospitals, continuing the circle of care.
“It’s about whanaungatanga,” Bev says. “People of all ages coming together, creating with their hands, and giving back to others – just because you have dementia, it doesn’t mean that you’re not able to contribute to society.
“Some of these babies are leaving the hospital with very little, but having something precious and made just for them is something their parents treasure.”
Since then, many packs have been shared nationwide, supported through donations and partnerships. For many, the familiar rhythm of knitting brings focus and comfort — supporting memory, fine-motor skills, and emotional wellbeing.
“What I love about Nanny Raiha is that it reminds us how everyday activities can help people stay connected and feel valued,” says Dementia New Zealand Chief Executive Cathy Cooney. “It’s a wonderful expression of Ki kōna tāua hui ai (meeting you where you are) and Manaakitanga (showing care, inclusion, respect, support, trust and kindness).”
You can learn more, or request a free knitting pack at www.nannyraihacharitabletrust.com.
