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OPERATION
CHRISTMAS CHILD
SHOE BOX APPEAL ...a personal report from Kosova by Barbara,
our local roving reporter
Many of you may have been involved with the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Appeal either through your school, church or youth group. If you have “Thank you” for your contributions, and if not, I hope you might be inspired to take part in the future after reading of my experience…
"Having seen the joy on the faces of
the children receiving the boxes myself,
it makes me determined to continue with this
and encourage others
to take part".
Left: At a school in the mountain village of Ivaje - note the lack of books and the bare walls. Right: At the Gypsy camp
My name is Barbara, and since the middle of 2006 I have been the area coordinator for the charity Samaritan’s Purse (in the SG postcode area). This is a Christian Charity dedicated to meeting the critical needs of victims of war, poverty, famine, disease and natural disaster. There are a number of projects undertaken throughout the year, the main ones being the provision of water filters to those with no access to clean water, and the Operation Christmas Child appeal.
I have been involved with this charity since November 2000. It was not something I had planned to do! Until 1999 I had been teaching Mathematics in Bedford then, that November, I suffered a brain haemorrhage which forced me to take early retirement. When I had recovered sufficiently, a friend who was already involved in the OCC shoebox appeal, asked
if I might like to pack a shoebox. That year I did two and found myself wanting to get more involved. The rest, as they say, is history.
Left: Young boy with his box on the steps of the Anton Santori school in Shterpce about 30 km from the capital Pristine.
Right: The Orphan's Party
The idea of shoeboxes full of gifts for destitute children in Eastern Europe started back in
1990 when we saw horrific pictures of orphans in Romania. That year, a group of friends from Wrexham travelled out there with medical equipment and a few hundred shoeboxes. From those small beginnings things have taken off. For Christmas 2006 we sent out 1.25 million shoeboxes from this country to some poor areas in Eastern Europe and Africa.
The 2006 project brought a number of amazing experiences for me. Not only had I just taken on the SG postcode area but we were also offered a warehouse in Biggleswade for the first time. This was where 7,500 shoeboxes were checked, put in cartons and loaded onto a lorry ready to go out to Bosnia. Everyone who packs a shoebox is supplied with a leaflet telling
them the items that can and cannot go into the boxes. Some of these are obvious: liquids are not allowed as they may leak and ruin the box: knives or other sharp items could be harmful
to the child. Some things are not accepted because of customs controls in the countries they are going to.
Left: Unloading the cartons of boxes at the warehouse in Pristine. The lorry had come from Chesterfield.
Right: Boys enjoying their gifts
This is why every box has to be checked before it can leave this country. Items are removed if necessary and sometimes extra gifts may be added. We had over 80 volunteers at the Biggleswade warehouse during the 5 weeks we were open and a fantastic team who coped well with minor crises; the worst of which was cascades of water coming in during a heavy rainstorm. Amazingly not one of the hundreds of shoeboxes was damaged.
My other fantastic experience was the great privilege of going out on a distribution team to Kosova. Here we visited schools and a gypsy camp and gave a party for orphans. Kosova is a very poor area, at the moment a United Nations protectorate, hoping to become an independent country. It was heavily involved in the war in the area and the evidence is still there to be seen. Many bombed out buildings next to part-built houses; roughly made up
tracks between some elegant new houses; horse-drawn carts travelling along dual-carriageways; many people out of work.
The children, their parents and teachers were so grateful that a group of people had travelled so far to take them these small gifts and to show that they have not been forgotten. The schools we visited had no pictures on the walls and very few books. Even some of the exercise books looked as if they were being used for the second time.
We take pens, pencils, books and paper for granted, but in some areas a child cannot go to school if they do not have their own paper and pencils as the schools do not have supplies. If we can put these things along with simple toiletries, hats, gloves and toys in a shoebox, we can help to improve the life of a child in a distant country. Having seen the joy on the faces of the children receiving the boxes myself, it makes me determined to continue with this and encourage others to take part.
"The children, their parents and teachers were so grateful that a group of people had travelled so far to take them these small gifts and to show that they have not been forgotten".
If you would like to help this year, please contact:
08700 112 002 or on the website:
www.samaritanspurse.uk.com
