Heart Filled with Joy at the Sight of Children's Smiles

The Kajak.mk team is constantly on the lookout for the heroes who do small things with huge impact on tourism and society.

What we’ve realized is that happiness is missing in Macedonia. Many people living in our region are not happy. There is a lack of mutual support and encouragement, missing smiles and warm conversations.

That’s why our goal is to one day build a community of a million local heroes—people who inspire hope that we can help each other. We will do our best to share the stories of all those local heroes who never imagined anyone would publicly share their story and support them in the special way Kajak.mk does.

This mission keeps us alive and gives us the will to wake up early every morning to search for new people who truly matter to our society.

Today, we want to introduce you to another local heroine who proves that spending your free time on a hobby you love can bring you an extra income to live on.

Karanfilka Giceva is a woman who creates dolls using the amigurumi technique. With every stitched loop, she also weaves a piece of her soul.

She is known as a positive person. She would unconditionally help anyone in need and has the ability to share her positive energy with others. Through making dolls, she found a way to transfer that energy and warm the hearts of children who receive a toy crafted by her hands.

She learned to knit as a child at the age of six, and the first thing she ever knitted was a little dress for a doll. A few years ago, she discovered the amigurumi technique—completely new to her but very fascinating.

At the beginning, educational videos on YouTube helped her, and later she continued following her own path. Her first doll was a bunny, and then she made several giraffes, lions, and many other animals that inspired her to create her own page called “Happy Crew.”

Creating a doll using the amigurumi technique requires safe materials (cotton thread and antibacterial filling) that won’t harm the health of small children and babies during play. Most important of all is patience and love throughout the doll-making process because with every loop stitched, the soul of the toy is woven in as well.

Karanfilka says that in recent years, the trend of handmade knitted creations has made a comeback. More and more people are looking for these kinds of dolls because they can be custom-made to resemble their children — matching the same hair color, eye color, and favorite outfits.

For her, the most important thing is that children are happy. She adds that what fills her the most is seeing the smiles of children who have received dolls she has gifted them.

Some of the dolls she makes, which are not intended for specific children, she posts and sells through her page Srekna druzina – racno izraboteni kuklicki (Happy Crew – handmade dolls).

People like Karanfilka deserve attention from the Kajak.mk team, and they are exactly the kind of people we aim to include in our December campaign, which you can learn more about with just one click HERE.