Blog

Our Romanian partners have travelled to the border town of Botosani to volunteer at a centre for Ukranian refugees and to bring supplies into Ukraine

Last year, with your help, we sent an outstanding 178,639 Christmas Shoebox gifts to children across 13 countries in Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. Here you can read the stories from some of the children, see how much your Christmas Shoebox gift really meant to them and how it brought joy, happiness and hope to their lives.

Through our partners in the neighbouring countries of Moldova and Romania Team Hope is assisting those fleeing conflict.

Team Hope is assisting those fleeing conflict in the Ukraine through our partners in Moldova & Romania, to provide shelter, hygiene kits, food and psychosocial support to those, primarily women and children, who have crossed the border to escape the war.

"I didn’t use to see any difference between the sound of air defence and missile shots. And I didn’t use to be woken up at night by the sounds of air raid sirens or stay in a bomb shelter throughout the night… and now I do. We all do. One morning changed our reality forever."

Team Hope has worked in Ukraine for decades, through our partner based in Odessa. They will now be mobilising to meet emergency needs such as providing emergency food, hygiene kits or other essential support.

Our Christmas Shoebox Appeal officer, Theresa came us with this amazing way of spreading her shoebox shopping over the whole year and of keeping track of what you already have (which can be the hardest part!)

Your shoeboxes left in huge shipping containers from every corner of the country in November and December! Have a look through the grid to find out where your box has gone!

We want to hugely thanks each and every school who has taken part. Every single box collected is another child who will receive a gift this Christmas!