Operation Christmas Child Launches

Thursday, 6 October 2016 05:44

Melissa Jansen and another Operation Christmas Child volunteer talk about their experience handing out shoe boxes in Costa Rica at Faithway Baptist Church.

People have begun filling shoe boxes as part of the 2016 Operation Christmas Child campaign.

It's time to start filling shoe boxes for children in other countries.

Faithway Baptist Church in Woodstock hosted an Operation Christmas Child launch for the 2016 holiday season last night.

People in Canada, the United States, and Australia have been filling red and green shoe boxes with small items for kids in other countries since 1990. These shoe boxes are given to boys and girls between the ages of 2 and 14 and may contain school supplies and personal hygiene products for the children. Small toys like a stuffed animals or an inflatable ball (with a pump) can also be added to the box as well. Sometimes participants also include a photo of their family or a letter to the child receiving their shoe box.

Melissa Jansen is a teacher at Northdale Public School in Woodstock and actually got to travel to Costa Rica to deliver some of these shoe boxes. She tells Heart FM some kids instantly rummage through their shoe boxes while others take their time.

"Some of the children actually will open up their shoe box and then close it again really quickly. They'll open it again and they might look at one or two things then they'll pack it away. I think it's just an overwhelming feeling to them; some of these children have never received a gift."

Each shoe box costs $7 to send it to its designated country. This year Canadians who participate in Operation Christmas Child will have their shoe boxes sent to one of the following countries:

- Haiti
- El Salvador
- Costa Rica
- Venezuela
- Chile
- Uruguay
- Ukraine
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Guinea
- Guinea Bissau
- Equatorial Guinea

Jansen says the gifts are not always delivered around Christmas time.

"I did my distribution in August so realistically to get all the volunteers that you need to go all around the world to give out these boxes, you have to spread it out throughout the year."

For this reason people are being asked NOT to include any sort of food or candy while filling their shoe boxes.

Operation Christmas Child is run by Samaritan's Purse, a Christian Relief. Upon receiving a shoe box each child is also given the option to participate in The Greatest Journey, a 12 week discipleship where they learn more about Christianity and Jesus Christ.

You can visit the Samaritan's Purse website for more information about Operation Christmas Child.