The beginning of September always brings back my childhood memories of new school uniform and new shoes. Nowadays I am more focussed on the shoe boxes which the shops offer us at the time of purchase. It is, of course, ‘that time of year again’ when the charitable organisation Samaritan’s Purse asks parishes and schools to start collecting together items for their shipment of shoe boxes filled with Christmas presents for very poor children in far-off places.
Hampstead Parish Church has been supporting this project for several years, and this year our boxes will be going again to Mozambique, In this war-torn part of Africa all basic products are very expensive. Very many children do not survive beyond five years of age. Recently more families have received access to running water and more girls have been allowed to join their brothers in the schoolroom. However children can only attend school when they provide their own paper, pens, pencils, crayons, rulers and sharpeners – so these items are wonderful Christmas presents. So are toothpaste and toothbrushes, soap and flannels, nail brushes and packets of paper hankies.
Fun items are of course also important: balls, soft toys (but not resembling wild animals), trucks and cars, harmonicas, skipping ropes, puzzles, balloons, bangles, dolls and necklaces, puzzle books and stickers.
Hats, caps, gloves and scarves are also on the list of recommended presents, as the nights in this part of Africa are very chilly.
If you would like to take part, leaflets and other details will be available at the back of the church during September and October, and on the charity’s website: www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk <http://www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk>.
If you would like to contribute to someone else’s shoe box with one or two items, please join with another person you know, or contact me. The deadlines for completion is Sunday, 6th November, when the boxes will be blessed by our clergy ahead of collection for shipping.
Rosemary Loyd
Do you have any spare shoeboxes? You may not want to fill them yourself but please rbing them to the church so that other people can use them. [Not the very big ones [trainers often come in HUGE boxes, please, Samaritan’s Purse do limit the size we can send.]
Operation Christmas Child
Rosemary Loyd