Christmas campaign · Glina and Ferentari
In December, over the winter holidays, we ran a campaign to support children in Glina and in the Ferentari neighbourhood of Bucharest.
How it began
Children – rich or poor – love Christmas, a time they feel is wrapped in magic. Five days before Christmas, the children of Glina were overjoyed when each of them was given a simple fir branch.
They put it in the window in place of a Christmas tree, hoping the spirit of Christmas would find its way into their homes too – and that perhaps, just perhaps, Father Christmas would be more generous than in years gone by.
On Christmas Eve
Neither the more than 50 children nor their parents knew anything about our plans. So, on Christmas Eve, Father Christmas’s procession made its way through the streets of Glina.
Any child we met along the way who knew a carol or a poem received plenty of presents from Father Christmas’s messengers.
Thank you to everyone who got involved – whether through their own effort or with food, clothes, toys and school supplies.
You could read the enormous surprise and happiness on the children’s faces: Father Christmas had not forgotten them!
The gifts
The presents were prepared separately for kindergarten children and for schoolchildren, so that every child received something suited to them.
A modest helping hand for their comfort: clothes, food and the traditional Christmas cozonac (a sweet bread), plus oranges so big that two small hands could barely hold one. And fabulous toys they had probably only ever seen on television.
Father Christmas put the most emphasis on learning: puzzles, school supplies and games to stimulate their intelligence and creativity.
Every kindergarten child received a whole set of 10–20 felt-tip pens or coloured pencils, to colour as beautifully and creatively as they liked in the colouring books Father Christmas had also sent.
Each received 2–3 spiral-bound notebooks with illustrated covers and good-quality paper – something their families could not have afforded – plus 4–5 nice pens with good ink.
We hoped these school supplies would delight them for days or even weeks, and give them one more reason to enjoy taking notes and doing their homework.
What we hoped for
We hope this campaign brought the children of Glina a little joy in their childhood and strengthened their ability to dream – to believe that good things can happen to them too, even though they were born into very poor families.
It was a day when many children were happy and their parents had fewer worries. We wanted it to be just the beginning of a long-term non-formal education project.
For the children of Glina, the only way out of poverty is education. It can give them self-confidence and inspire them to dream – and to work hard to make those dreams come true.
A small gesture can bring a big smile. Become a volunteer or find out how you can support the association.