The Royal College of General Practitioners ( Wales ) together with a Group Relations International (GR) launched the Sleeping Bag Project at the Cyrenians Community Centre on the High Street , Swansea on Tuesday 17th March 2011.

Jo Maxwell, who is based in Cape Town , South Africa is the Queen of the Cape Town Red Hat Renegades (an organisation whose motto is Fun and Friendship with a Purpose). Jo instigated the Sleeping Bag Project in South Africa in 2005 which contributed to her being named as the winner of the Women of Worth Award that same year.

The sleeping bag was developed as a temporary emergency sleeping bag for wet and freezing winters, township fires and flooding. To date, volunteers have made and distributed over 15,000 of the sleeping bags to the homeless, various townships residents and refugees. The bags have also been used internationally in American, Australia , Canada , Germany and in Ireland .

Jo demonstrated how to put the sleeping bags together and talked about how they have been used across the world. The bags are made of newspaper which is covered in micron recycled plastic bags providing an insulated, waterproof sleeping bag.— simple tools used effectively to help the most vulnerable in society.

Those who attended the demonstration was Janet Keauffling, Nurse for Homeless and Vulnerable Adults who is based at the Cyrenians Community Centre working with High Street Surgery, members of the rough sleepers intervention team in Swansea, Nicola Edmunds and Susan Court, RCGP Wales and Christine Davies GRI.

RCGP Wales are delighted to promote the Sleeping Bag Project and to have the opportunity to work with Janet Keauffling and the team at High Street Surgery, Swansea announced as the winner of the RCGP Wales Practice Team of the Year Award in 2010 (see here).

Jo Maxwell's visit is supported by GRI, an organisation working for social justice through applied spirituality group elations and in many other ways as they emerge.