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Moseley Chimes
May 2008
We have received a letter of thanks and a report from Samaritan’s Purse, the charity which runs “Operation Christmas Child”, known to our church family as "Shoe Boxes". Last Christmas 1.3 million shoe boxes were sent from UK to some of the poorest and most disadvantaged children in 13 countries in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and Africa.
Samaritan Purse writes: "We would like to thank all the caring people who packed shoe boxes, prayed and gave financially" And they ask us to pray for the recipients.
One child was three year old Moma who lives with his parents in their home measuring 15 feet by 12 feet in a muddy refugee camp near Belgrade, Serbia. A photo shows his beaming smile as he plays with the toy cars he’s been given, the very first gifts he’d ever received in his life. And there is Gala aged 2½ who dived into her box spreading gifts everywhere, and giggling with delight. She lives in a baby’s home north of the Belarusian capital of Minsk. She was taken into care at four months old and has not seen her mother since. It wasn’t easy for the shoe box team to get through the mud of the fly-tip site under a bridge which is home to Silvana and hundreds of very poor Roma families. The little girl was delighted with her gifts. Her mother found the sturdy shoe box useful to help block up a rat hole in the side of their shack.
Where it is culturally appropriate, Samaritan’s Purse works with local partners to offer the children story books in their own language, about the true meaning of Christmas. Thanks to the on-going support of donors, the charity is engaged with children all year round. There is a current focus on providing clean water so that such children as Maria do not have to walk many miles daily to fetch some polluted water. This means that there is no time for her to attend school and she will remain forever trapped in poverty unless her community is helped to access a local supply of clean water.
When the appeal for items for Christmas shoe boxes is made this autumn, perhaps we will remember some of the above cases. But of course, there are no “cases”, only children.