Shoeboxes full of love reach children in need (From This is Hampshire)

Shoeboxes full of love reach children in need

9:12am Sunday 4th February 2007 in

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NUMB is the only word I can use to describe the harrowing sights I saw when I arrived at a gypsy camp in Podgorica - the capital of Montenegro.

I had been invited over to the eastern European country, along with Gazette photographer Sarah Gaunt, to find out exactly where the gift-filled shoeboxes collected by the Rotary Shoebox Appeal actually end up.

The three Rotary clubs in Basingstoke - Basingstoke, Basingstoke Deane and Basingstoke Loddon - worked together to collect more than 700 gift-filled boxes from schools, businesses and Gazette readers in the run-up to Christmas.

There was a delay in transporting the boxes, which were meant to arrive in time for Christmas, due to reasons beyond Rotary International's control - but last Friday was when they finally reached the needy children they were intended for.

This whole experience lasted less than an hour, but it was the most shocking and humbling time of my life

Members of The Rotary Club of Ulcinj-Uqin, who were looking after us while we were in Montenegro, had explained a little about what to expect from the visit to the gypsy camp - which has been there since 1999.

But nothing prepared me for what I experienced that day.

When I arrived at the entrance to the camp - home to a small number of refugees from Kosovo but mainly the very poorest of people from Montenegro - the sheer size of it was the first thing that struck me.

All you could see were dilapidated wooden shacks, rugs and all sorts of materials, which serve as makeshift housing for the thousands of men, women and children who call this home.

The ground was like a swamp - full of dirt, water, rubbish and food debris - and there were cows, tethered donkeys and many dogs running free across the site.

As soon as we arrived, children came running towards us, eager to see new faces and intrigued by Sarah's camera.

Their big sad eyes seemed happy for a couple of minutes and, despite the language barrier, we were able to communicate perfectly. There was genuine excitement about being in pictures and talking to the Rotarians and us.

We were soon ushered into the Red Cross base, which is permanently manned at the site. There, the Rotarians and representatives from the Red Cross had a short meeting about the benefits of the shoebox appeal, which I was invited to sit in on.

Representatives of the three Rotary clubs of Montenegro - The Rotary Club of Ulcinj-Uqin, The Rotary Club of Podgorica and The Rotary Club of Budva - were thanked by the Red Cross staff for organising the distribution of the shoeboxes. Workers for the Red Cross couldn't stress enough how important these gifts were for the children who live there and their families.

The shoeboxes were handed out at the kindergarten at the camp which, from the outside, looked like any of the other hundreds of wooden shacks but, surprisingly, inside it was like any other nursery - with pastel colours and children's work pinned up on the walls.

You could immediately see just how poor these children are. Many of them were dirty, dressed in ill-fitting clothes and shoes - but perhaps the most striking thing was the overwhelming look of sadness in their eyes.

Choking back tears, I helped to hand out some boxes to the children. I expected there to be smiles and lots of joy in the room as the boxes were opened but, instead, what struck me was a sense of bewilderment.

The Rotarians explained that most of these children had probably never received a present before and that the real value would only be realised when they got their boxes home to their families and looked at all the presents inside.

Families would be able to use the more practical items like soap and toothpaste and the children could then enjoy the toys and games that were inside the boxes.

After the boxes had been distributed, we had a chance to take a walk around the camp for ourselves. Children wearing old sandals or even barefoot played around in the filth, oblivious to the dangers of disease that could well have been lurking in every puddle.

We found the washing area, where a team of women were washing clothes, carpets and bedding in the most horrendous conditions. There is running water but it is stone cold and the women have to make do with buckets, old tin baths and brushes to do their washing.

On our walk around the camp, we were invited into one family's home. The rotten wooden structure was laden with rugs and carpets outside to act as insulation, and inside had rugs on the floor and wallpaper on the walls. There was padding all around the sides of the room for people to sit on and, amazingly enough, there was a television, a bar heater and a camping stove with a pot.

Despite these horrendous conditions, the Rotarians said that there was no sign that the people living at the camp would be rehoused anytime soon. On the plus side, we were told the Government does provide free healthcare and schooling for the families that live there.

The camp is completely isolated from the rest of the city, but you can feel a sense of community.

This whole experience lasted less than an hour, but it was the most shocking and humbling time of my life.

Day two of the trip took us to a theatre in Ulcinj and a school in Bar to distribute more shoeboxes. It was a completely different situation to the squalid conditions at the gypsy camp we had seen the day before.

Here, the children, although extremely poor, came from housing estates and lived what could be termed a more normal life.

Each child had been selected to receive a box by a Montenegro government department - the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare - on the basis of their standard of living and, one by one, they were called up to a stage to receive their gifts.

A group of children put on a show of singing, dancing and music before the boxes were distributed. The Rotarians explained to us that although these families had their own homes, they were extremely poor, so the shoeboxes were just as important here as at the gypsy camp in Podgorica.

The children here showed more of a reaction when they were given their box of goodies. You could sense the joy and amazement as they picked their way through the gifts.

One boy had a box full of toys but was entranced by a single blue balloon. This really brought home the effect such simple gifts can have on those who otherwise wouldn't receive any kind of presents.

The distribution point in Bar was a very similar experience. Again, the children put on a show to convey their appreciation at receiving the gifts and were amazed by the contents of their shoeboxes.

The Rotarians from Montenegro were so grateful for the help of British Rotarians and the British public in enabling them to give the most disadvantaged children in their country a slice of happiness.

Ibrahim Milla, president of the Rotary Club of Ulcinj-Ulqin, said: "I want to thank all the people in England who filled a shoebox and helped the under-privileged children of Montenegro.

"I hope by seeing where they end up, even more people will get involved next year."

• Click here to view Sarah's pictures