Operation Shoebox

What is there to fit in a shoebox? More than you can imagine. Since 2007 thousands of poor children have been receiving presents in shoeboxes, offered by Romanians of means.

România Internațional, 29.12.2013, 14:04

This is not a Romanian invention. Presents started to pour in immediately after 1989. But Operation Shoebox is organized locally so to say, in more than 40 cities and towns of Romania and in 5 countries with large Romanian communities.

Valentin Vesa, the initiator of this project will tell us how it all started: “We wanted to give our child a lesson. He was 3 years and a half and he had many things that could have also been used by poorer kids, who didn’t have that much. We told him: let’s go and give away some of your toys and clothes. We wrapped two shoeboxes in colored paper, filled them with toys and clothes and gave them to several poor children. We wanted to be discreet about it, it was the second week of December in 2006. When we went to attend the end-of-year party at our son’s kindergarten all the other parents started asking us about our project, about the organization we belonged to, and so on. Our son had revealed our action to them all because he had enjoyed it very much”.

Valentin Vesa and his wife talked to the other parents and decided to extend their action. In a messenger status they posted the announcement that they were gathering presents for poor kids. In only a few days they gathered more than 500 boxes.

Next Valentin Vesa will explain the success of his action: “There are very many volunteers who come with their children, who give the presents themselves and talk to the children receiving the gifts. Besides offering a poor child a Christmas present, you also help your kid understand that not everybody can afford 4 different meal courses, two types of desserts, many jackets and so on. They learn that many people do not have carpets on their floors, do not have electricity and consequently no computers and games. In one of the boxes a child found a flashlight and he enjoyed it more than a chocolate cake.”

But what is there to fit in a shoebox?: “If we put small things, we can include many diverse items such as sweets, school supplies, personal hygiene items, tooth brushes, tooth paste, foulards, caps, sweaters, woolen stockings and socks. In one year we received 80 uniforms from a military unit and the teenagers from a placement center were very happy to receive them.”

Each of those who organize collection points looks for their own recipients, said Valentin Vesa: “Each of the organizers tries to contact the local town halls; the social assistance divisions have full lists of poor families, of broken families or families in which the parents are working abroad. We are careful not to make mistakes in the sense of, let’s say, 4 foundations helping one and the same family. We also cooperate with social assistance divisions specializing in children’s problems. We don’t like publicity; we don’t accept the presence of television cameras when we give the boxes. We believe this is an intimate moment experienced by the child and the donor; they engage in conversations and lot of them keep in touch for many years”.

Last year 19 cities and towns were involved in the action. They gathered 7 thousand boxes that reached 7 thousand children. Valentin Vesa says that after each action he sends photos to those who brought the presents, because donors should also enjoy this project.

Valentin Vesa : “The Shoebox campaigns involve the effort of many Romanians who put many hours of their time into filling and wrapping the shoeboxes and spending time with these children. We don’t accept the idea of a virtual Santa Claus. These children need to know that the boxes come from their fellow Romanians even if it’s from Romanians in the Diaspora, and not from foreigners. We have already been called by Romanians from the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, England and Australia.”

Valentin Vesa says that once you made a box, you will also make a second one. Why is that? The answer will be given by two volunteers in the project, Cristian China Birta and Diana Borca. Cristian is from Bucharest: “We didn’t know what to expect; last year we had almost 500 boxes which we centralized at our office. We were very happy with the success scored, and this year we are more prepared, more organized and ready to break all records. You always get an extraordinary feeling at the end of such a project. When you see the photos with these children you cannot fail to feel a powerful emotion.”

Diana Borca is from Constanta and this year she has mobilized all her friends: “This is my favorite project, I like it so much that I start thinking about it three months before and I’m sad it happens only once a year. I always liked to make presents but at this time of the year I really feel like Santa Claus. I imagine the kid opening the present from me and finding inside colored crayons, books, toys and sweets and I rejoice at these kids’ joy. Operation Shoebox is about my happiness which I wish to share with these kids at least once a year”.

If the topic of this feature was of interest to you, please go to their site www.shoebox.ro.