Christmas season is the perfect time to give children presents! This winter children from Lutheran congregations of Odessa region, Kharkiv, Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rih, Zmiivka, Zhytomyr, Bila Tserkva, Zaporizhzhia, Berdiansk and Kyiv (St. Catherine congregation), as well as Reformed congregations in Rivne and Ivano-Frankivsk received Christmas presents thanks to GELCU partners – The centre for mission and evangelism of Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland, which provided finances from the “Virtual Present” fund to purchase 1000 presents for the “Prezent pod choinkę” Christmas project, and charitable fund “Diaconia-Ukraine”.
Congregation in Kharkiv traditionally bought for Christmas presents good quality children’s books. This year they were bought from the “Old Lion Publishing House”. Congregations in Odesa region put together good quality school stationary kits in cooperation with “Kidis” toy and children products shop.
Apart from Lutheran and Reformed congregations, presents were given to children and grandchildren of the “Union Chornobyl of Ukraine” and children from families in difficult straits (Kharkiv), beneficiaries of “Caritas-Spes” (Berdiansk), “Wiedergeburt” (Kremenchuk and Zaporizhzhia) and boarders of the Child’s home in Kryvyi Rih, and others.
Children as well as adult members of the congregations expressed their gratitude to benefactors for wonderful and useful presents, and to all those, whose work made this project possible!
