The gift boxes from the Samaritans Purse Operation Christmas Child project have left Orange to be distributed to children in developing countries.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Recently, a large courier van arrived at the Christian Ministry Centre in Cecil Road where it collected about 400 shoe boxes containing gifts to be distributed.
The van also collected boxes of shoe boxes from Dubbo.
The filled boxes are being sent to a distribution centre in Sydney from where they will be sent overseas in time for Christmas.
Each shoe box is created for either a boy or a girl aged between two and four, five and nine, or 10 and 14.
They each contain something to love, something to wear, something for school, something to play with, personal hygiene items including a face washer, soap and toothbrush, as well as a handmade cloth bag.
In Orange and surrounding towns volunteers have made wooden and knitted donations and spent time packing the boxes.
One of the Orange based Samaritans Purse Operation Christmas Child coordinators Robyn Hicks said it was the second collection of boxes and there will be one more to go, which will likely be in the second full week of November.
“There would be between 400 and 500 shoe boxes waiting to go,” Mrs Hicks said.
“There will be over 1000 I think we will get.
“The first [shipping] containers went to Madagascar, that’s 21,000 [boxes] from the state.”
She said the recent collection from Orange would go in a third container but Mrs Hicks has not yet been informed of its destination.
“As each container is filled they let us know where one goes,” Mrs Hicks said.
“Some people track where their box has gone, you pay for it you get a special barcode.
“We’re going to pack boxes on Sunday after church and I’ve printed off 12 barcodes so we have an idea of where 12 boxes will go.”