Members of Operation Christmas Child (OCC) Galway at Ballybrit Racecourse prior to the Christmas gifts being shipped to Africa.

Almost 7,000 gifts have been sent from Ballybrit in Galway to needy children in Swaziland as part of this year's Operation Christmas Child (OCC).

Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is the largest children's Christmas project in the world under the auspices of Samaritans Purse, an Irish based Christian charity. Swaziland is a country where unemployment runs at 40 per cent; where up to 69 per cent of the population live below the poverty line and where almost 40 per cent of the adult population are infected by HIV.

Many volunteers spend hours each November preparing the shoeboxes for the disadvantaged children of the world. The Irish charity usually focuses on Eastern Europe and this will be the first year for the Galway boxes to go beyond these borders.

In all, OCC Galway expects about 17,000 shoeboxes to leave Ballybrit, Tuam and Ballinasloe, the remainder of which will go to some Eastern European destinations ? Belarus, Croatia, Romania or Ukraine. The shoebox is an expression of love and concern for the families and children who do not enjoy the same standard of living as we do. In many cases they will represent the only gift a child will receive this Christmas.

Comments (0) »

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment