Donate to OCL

Please donate to Operation Christmas Love

Your gift of £25 today will cover the distribution and contents of one food parcel and enable a family in crisis to share with you the true meaning of Christmas and bring joy to children this Christmas. The parcel will not only bring essential food and treats, but will also reveal the real reason for Christmas – the gift of God’s love and care for them. Please respond today. We need to deliver parcels by Christmas and we won’t be able to do it without your help.

We want to support children and families in Eastern Europe who are facing desperate and isolating poverty as well as freezing winter conditions where temperatures can often drop below -20°C.

For instance, in a Roma village near Brezoi in Romania, you will find a collection of shacks where: “Instead of plaster walls and tiled roofs, sheets of plywood and corrugated aluminium are all that protects people from the bitter cold – and there is no snow plough to make roads accessible and safe in winter.”

Supporting Those in Need

We are committed to relieve the suffering of the poor and marginalised and share the hope found in Jesus Christ.

This Christmas, we want to raise funds to deliver 42,000 Operation Christmas Love parcels across six countries in Eastern Europe. It’s a huge number – more than we’ve ever done before – but people are in desperate need resulting from the effects of the pandemic and from the terrible conflict in Ukraine.

As well as the 12 million people who have reportedly fled their homes, the UN also explains than five million have left for neighbouring countries, such as Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova, while seven million people are still thought to be displaced inside Ukraine itself.

Within these massive numbers are countless human stories: families enduring extreme deprivation, children traumatised and distressed. Consider the words of this young boy from a family in Eastern Ukraine:

“Maksym hugged his grandmother and said, “When Granny came from Ukraine to the occupied territory to take me back, she was risking her life. On the border we waited for hours in the line on our way back to Ukraine. We were absolutely unprotected and vulnerable.” 

Refugees with tents

The BBC has reported that, according to the United Nations (UN): “At least 12 million people have fled their homes since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.”

Bringing Comfort and Joy

This Christmas will be a time of hardship and uncertainty for many people across Eastern Europe, but a Christmas box brought to them through Operation Christmas Love will bring the spirit of the festive season back into their lives.

These parcels will contain essential food supplies, treats and gifts to help lift the pressure off families struggling with poverty at this important time of year, as well as uplifting Christian literature.

The kind of reaction they receive can be summed up by the words of these poverty-stricken children in Moldova:

“When an MWB staff member arrives at their house with an Operation Christmas Love (OCL) parcel, the four of them are filled with excitement…

“Four heads clothed in woolly hats eagerly lean over the box as they pull the items out, seeing what is inside. 

“Dorina shouts happily, “Look, badea! [the Moldovan word for ‘older brother’]. Chocolate!” 

“Wow!” says her brother, and opens it immediately, sharing it out between the four of them. 

“Look at this – we can eat porridge tomorrow morning – I like it so much!” says Nicholae as they all happily eat.” 

Please donate now, knowing that your gift will bring a family joy this Christmas, not least because they will know they have not been forgotten.

Happy Child Christmas Love

Maria from Romania is delighted with her Operation Christmas Love parcel.

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