Thousands of people from all over Gloucestershire volunteered their time to decorate an empty shoebox then fill it with Christmas presents ranging from teddies to toothpaste. The boxes have now been sent out to severely disadvantaged children in countries including Bosnia, Kosovo, Romania and Serbia. Radio Gloucestershire's Martin Evans accompanied them on a five day aid mission to Romania - you can find out how he got on by reading his diary below. You can also view his photos from the trip by clicking on the link above. Day 1 "It took twenty hours to get to Cluj, my destination in Romania but it was well worth all the travel.
"During the whole trip I made sure that the shoebox made by the Eastington Rainbows was right by my side. It was quite a talking point on the coach from Gloucester bus station to Heathrow, especially when I started to broadcast live into Matt Peacocks Breakfast Show, where I also carried out acts of random kindness! "The staff at the airport in Romania were fabulous, and treated the shoebox to a guided tour of the amenities. Here they are helping it into the arrivals lounge! "The benefit of the longer than expected trip was getting to bond with the fourteen others who were eagerly anticipating giving out shoeboxes to the needy children, but at this stage we didn’t realise just how needy they would be.
"The first place that I visited was Fanate, a community made up of three sets of flats that was built to house a farming community. The farm closed down many years ago but the people still live there with no amenities, except for a shared well. "The children were waiting for us when we arrived and were delighted to receive the gifts, which for most of them will be the only sign of Christmas that they have ever seen. We were invited into their homes, and I went to see Ion and his son David, who lived in one room with no electricity, and had just a wood burning stove to keep them warm. "I really got a sense of deprivation, and this was just the first of many places that I will be visiting. The roads around the estate are mainly bumpy patches of mud and the living conditions are unimaginable by our standards. It was a real eye opener. "There were many people deserving of the shoebox made by the Eastington Rainbows, but seeing as we had thousands of others made by people from all over Gloucestershire, I decided to hang onto it, so it could experience more of the diverse lifestyles from this fascinating country. It will go to a good home before the five days are up. Day 2 "The shoebox has now travelled thousands of miles with me and is growing in celebrity status with the rest of the volunteers on the trip. So much so that we decided to give it a name, and came up with Earl, after Eastington Rainbows who made it. It proudly sits in the front of the van, waiting to be given to a little girl on the last day.
"It's had its own adventures as well, including having a ride on the back of a horse and meeting a shepherd in a small farming village. "Today's itinerary was a jam packed two children's homes, a hospital and a school to visit and nearly a hundred miles to cover, much of it over really bumpy dirt tracks. "We first made our way to one of the better orphanages, which operates more like a home than an institution. A husband and wife team run it and many of the children are there with a brother or a sister. The place had a lovely atmosphere and we spent a few hours playing games and singing songs. "It was then time to join them for lunch, and we had a festive special of rice wrapped in cabbage leaves, which the youngsters loved. It was a privilege to share quality time with them and was one of the more pleasant parts of the trip. "Next on the agenda was going to a school in Sarata, which was an hour’s drive away and set in a small farming village. More than three hundred people lived there, yet there was no running water, and the toilets, even at the school were just holes in the ground. "All the children came up to greet us with great enthusiasm as soon as we had arrived, and sang us a traditional Romanian song. They quickly opened their shoeboxes and started playing with the contents, and it was a great privilege to hand them out in such a dramatic setting. The teacher told me that many of their parents had issues with alcohol and that the school was their only real sanctuary, so these gifts would make home life far more manageable. "It was quite surreal being around so much poverty, and one that a few members of the distribution team found hard to cope with, but tomorrow we visit one of hospitals, and that really will be a test of faith. Day 3
"It was the most challenging two hours of my life, but at the same time probably the most rewarding. Visiting the oncology hospital in Cluj-Napoca certainly had its Emotional moments. "There were about thirty children on the top floor that we had to visit, so that meant taking crates of nicely wrapped shoe boxes up four flights of stairs. I'm currently suffering with a trapped nerve in my leg, and this aggravated it a bit. I was almost on the verge of feeling sorry for myself, but seeing the wards of sick children soon put that into perspective.
"I first spoke with Lou. His mum was very upset because he had been treated for cancer four times all ready, and she had just been told that it had returned in his spine. The outlook for the little shaven headed lad was not bright, but she was determined to make this a special Christmas for them together, and his shoebox had gotten that off to a great start. "In Lou's box, between the sweets and coloured pencils, were a toy fire engine and a bright blue car. His mum told us that this was his first ever toy car and he could not stop playing with it, and took great delight in showing it off around the ward. "Earl the shoe box went everywhere with us and the volunteers on the trip were all offering to carry him around. He was even at the head of the table when we briefly stopped for lunch. It might be just one box filled with goodies like a flute, a teddy and sweets but that represents more than 40,000 shoe boxes donated from Gloucestershire. "We still had lots more shoe boxes to deliver, and the next location was a family support centre in a small city called Turda. The journey took an hour, and most of it was in reflective silence, but it was broken by someone commenting on how brave the children and the parents in the hospital were, and how it made you realize how easy our lives were in comparison. "Turda had many poor families, but at least in this area they had facilities like a day centre, a church, shops and a real road. They all gathered to meet us outside the building and we handed out the shoe boxes. It wasn't to long before the lids came flying off and soon the area had a carnival atmosphere. One little girl was overjoyed at getting a tennis ball in her box and started to bounce it as she happily made her way home." Day 4 More than two hundred smiling faces greeted us with exited anticipation as we drove into Sigheto Marmatiec, a Gypsy village in the North of Romania which is close to the Ukraine boarder. We didn't expect to see quite so many people and started to worry, just in case we didn't bring enough boxes on this leg of the journey. Nothing could be worse than having to leave some children without the gift that they had walked miles to receive. They had all gathered outside a newly built primitive wooden church, and they welcomed us inside and sung a selection of Romanian songs. The children over here really do love to sing, and they put lots of effort into their performance.
 | | Rebecca with her gift |
It was then time to start the mad scramble of giving out the boxes, and each child lined up in a surprisingly ordered fashion and said "multumesc" which is Romanian for thank you, one of the few words that I've learnt in the last four days. A six year old boy called Mehi took his box outside and sat in a quite corner to see what was inside. He really had no idea what to expect, as this was probably the first wrapped gift he'd ever received. They don't have toilet paper in this village never mind festive gift wrap, and it was a treat to see his eyes light up. He punched the air with adulation and jumped up and down! I had to go and find out what made him so exited; expecting it to be a flashy toy car, but it was pens, pencils and a note pad. I was told by our interpreter that he said "I have the best box in the village" and he then went on to explain that he could now start school. Apparently Gypsy children aren't allowed to go to the local school unless they can provide their own stationery, and his parents couldn't afford it. In fact Mehi's Mum collected some of the cardboard cartons that the shoe boxes were packed in to use as a floor covering, as they have no carpets. I also learned that they shared their small wooden home with sixteen others, and that was common in this area. It took us four hours to get to the village, and our driver was called Razvan. He is told us that as a child he was living on the streets, but he was rescued by one of the many charity run orphanages. He was still living at the children's home but he would be soon leaving to go to university, and he really appreciated what they had done for him, and was now enjoying helping other children by distributing the shoeboxes. Next on the packed agenda was a lunch of smoked pig fat and brains, which is a local delicacy that I'd rather not experience again, then a quick trip to the Mother at Home Project. This is a refuge for women who have been shunned by their families because they're pregnant. We've seen far too many orphans in our short stay here, and this project aims first to protect the women, then to teach life skills and parenting. The good news is that at the end of the day, we still had three shoe boxes left over and all the children we planned to see got their Christmas off to a great start. Earl the shoe box was also still part of the team and sat proudly in the front of the van, but we all knew that as tomorrow was our last day, it would be our last day with it. Tomorrow Earl would be going to a new home, one that will surly make a little girl’s day. Day 5 Forty minutes cautiously walking down a narrow muddy pathway, that's what it took us to get to our first distribution today, which was a school in Breb. It was quite tough going, especially for the older members of the team but that's what the children of the small rural village have to do every day. Just before we got to the school one of the villagers took us to the side and pointed to a house on the hill. We were told that Prince Charles had just bought it and he'd popped to the village the week before. We finally made it and were invited in by the one teacher of the two hundred eager children, who were all waiting expectantly for their shoe box, but before we gave them out they insisted that they entertain us. They were all wearing the traditional Romanian costume of white coats made from sheep skin; apparently they were all made by an old lady who lives in the village and were only ever brought out for special occasions. The children put on quite a show, which was a nativity set to song and dance and at the end they showered us with grains of rice, which was quite a surprise but is in fact a Romanian blessing. It was then time to give the shoe boxes out, and the children really didn't know what to make of it. One child looked in his box and then gave it back. He didn't realise that it was for him and he was allowed to keep it! It was also time to say goodbye to Earl, it had had quite a journey which started in the caring hands of the Eastington Rainbows. It had travelled all over Romania and seen sights that most people could never imagine. It was a tough choice as there were so many deserving children to give it to, but it went to a little girl called Rebecca who lives in the village with her Mum. She loved the present and went skipping away playing on a little blue flute and eating some sweets. We then moved on to see another four hundred children in a further two schools in Sarbi and Budesti, and it was great to see all those wonderful smiles. Operation Christmas Child really does make a difference. Thoughts on arriving back in the UK I’ll never forget the look of sorrow in the eyes of the mother who told us that this could be her only child’s last Christmas. I’ll also reminisce on how that poignant glance was replaced with joy when he opened his first present on his hospital bed, in the form of a beautifully wrapped shoebox filled with toys and sweets. I’ll never forget the little boy in the gypsy village who cried out with delight because his box contained a set of pencils and a notepad. He was happy because the children in his ramshackled rural community could not go to school unless they had their own stationery. His parents could not afford it so he’d never been, but now he could go. I’ll never forget the orphan who sat on the floor and played with the contents of her shoebox, then neatly packed it away just as it had been, and handed it back. She didn’t realise it was hers to keep as she had never been given a gift before. These are many more moments from my week in Romania that will stay with me forever, but it’s the smiles on the children’s faces that I’ll remember the most. Operation Christmas Child really does make a huge difference to the lives of many people in circumstances that most of us could not believe; you really do have to be there to comprehend it. I visited villages which had no running water or electricity, and their toilets were just holes in the ground. I also got to experience life in orphanages, schools and hospitals and witnessed first hand deprivation beyond belief, but thanks to thousands of people from all over Gloucestershire who donated a shoebox, I also got to make a difference and spread a lot of happiness. Every shoebox was different and unique, but each one had an amazing impact. Firstly, it teaches children in this county who make them the joy of giving; it also gives purpose and meaning to the hundreds of volunteers who become part of a team to get them safely to their destination. I met a man in his nineties who wakes up every morning with the goal of sharpening some of the pencils that go in the boxes. It improves the community atmosphere in the impoverished villages and towns where they are distributed and is a way of getting experts in to help them improve for the future. But most of all, and more importantly each one will give a child a happy memory of Christmas that they'll never forget. Click on the links at the top right of this page to listen Martin Evans' radio reports from Romania. | 
