ST HILARY’S SCHOOL, GODALMING PACK FOR

‘OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD’

Pupils from St Hilary’s School, Godalming, have busily filled one hundred and twenty three Christmas boxes for the charity ‘Operation Christmas Child’, a project run by Samaritan’s Purse.

Operation Christmas Child is the largest children's Christmas project in the world. 2011 saw the charity celebrate 21 years of this special shoebox appeal, which has already brought joy into the lives of over 80 million children worldwide. In 2010 it sent nearly 1.21 million shoe boxes to 14 countries across the world from the UK, to children in hospitals, orphanages, Internally Displaced Persons camps, the rubble of Haiti, homeless shelters and impoverished neighbourhoods.

The St Hilary’s School boxes were delivered to The Wurth Warehouse in Godalming by the four heads of house and are to be sent to disadvantaged children between the ages of 2-14 living in poverty stricken Kurdistan. Each box was carefully checked to ensure it contained specific items such as toiletries, toys, drawing materials, hats, gloves and scarves and labeled boys or girls. The four pupils toured the distribution areas and helped at the checking points before watching a video about the living conditions in Kurdistan.

Mrs Joyce Dickenson, Charity Coordinator, said: “This is a marvellous opportunity for pupils at St Hilary’s to make a difference to the lives of some of the poorest children in the world at this special time of giving. Our four representatives certainly came back to school with a greater understanding of just how hard life is for so many children”.