Shoebox stories from Belarus

Love in a letter
Eira’s parents are alcoholics and since her birth she has only known rejection. Yet 13 year old Eira’s face was alight with surprise and pleasure as she discovered a letter in her shoebox. Most of her childhood has been spent at a local children’s shelter in her small town, she still sleeps at her parents’ tiny house but they cannot afford to care for her so every day she visits the shelter for food and company. 

As Eira opened her shoebox and began to hear the translation of the letter, her eyes grew wide and her smile increased, listening to words that spoke of love and care from a lady she’d never met. “Now, I know that someone out there loves me, someone cared enough to write this letter to me – Thank you for my special gift!”

Anastasia’s Gift
Arriving home from work late on Sunday evening, Anya looks tired and harassed. With no father in the picture, she is trying to earn enough to care for her 7 children. Her youngest, Anastasia, is 6 years old and has spent her whole life living in different hostels with her family. Just recently the government helped provide a flat for the family, but now Anya is working even longer hours to try and keep up the mortgage payments. 

Sitting outside the grey, towering flats, little Anastasia is intrigued by her gifts and amazed that someone would care enough to send her a shoebox. “Thank you so very much, these gifts are wonderful!” Seeing her daughters excitement the smile on Anya’s face says it all.

For more shoebox stories, visit www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/stories or download a copy of the OCC newsletter.

Photos: © Jonty Wilde
www.jontywilde.co.uk