Prince Albert man sees Operation Christmas Child as a blessing in Peru

He does work through the Timothy Program International at a church called Palabra de Vida in Manchay, Peru, a community just outside of the capital of Lima.

At the church, they receive Operational Christmas Child boxes every year. They handed out 8,000 boxes last year alone.

“I actually was at a Christmas party at that particular church and I handed out some of the boxes and it was just fantastic,” said Fryter. “The lights in the children’s eyes and you know, these are the poorest of the poorest kids in the world, poverty that we have not experienced here in Canada.”

The community of around 250,000 people, sits on sand hills in the middle of the desert. Steaking out land for themselves outside Lima, people built make-shift houses. Most of them don’t have running water, sewer or light. In the higher parts of the area, they just started installing electricity.

“There’s not even a cactus, that’s how poor the desert is,” said Fryter. “It’s called the ‘Valley of Death,’ it’s poverty that is excruciating.

“It’s something we don’t know here in Canada, we have no clue what poverty actually is.”

Fryter said the Christmas boxes go a long way.

“For a few dollars, you can fill up one of those boxes and you make a child happy for like months,” said Fryter. “For a few months, the ‘Valley of Death’ changes to the ‘Valley of Life.’”

Fryter said they are also working on micro financing businesses in the area. He recently got a report of a lady in Manchay who received a loan on $500 from a family here.

“She’s now producing Japanese hybrid cucumbers and selling them to large stores like Superstore,” explained Fryter. “When we can increase the amount of financing into the hands of poor people and they can start to sustain their own families and the children, then that’s a win-win situation.”

Parkland Ambulance spearheads the program in Prince Albert

Lyle Karasiuk, with Parkland Ambulance Paramedics, said Operation Christmas Child is an opportunity for local groups to get together and make a difference, or for parents to teach their kids what giving is all about.

“It allows us in the spirit of giving to give back to those people who have less fortunate means and put a smile on their face this holiday season,” said Karasiuk.

The program garners support of those in the developed world to supply the boxes to a child in the developing world, in countries like Haiti and Peru.

“It’s one of those great projects that we have a lot of fun with,” said Karasiuk. “It gives our staff the opportunity to work on something much bigger than just themselves.”

You can order boxes from the website, which get shipped to your house for you to fill. New this year, you can also build a box online using a credit card.

“It’ll take all of a few minutes of your time online, but you know, lots of people find time, because building a box is really easy in our world,” said Karasiuk. “You can probably build a box from stuff you have at home.”

The last option is to simply find a shoebox or to buy your own plastic container to fill. Karasiuk said a plastic container, once the present is opened, could be used as a food container, mixing bowl, to carry water or protect items from the rain.

“It has a lot of great uses, something we might not equate to it,” explained Karasiuk.

Items that are encouraged include school supplies, like pens, note pads and colouring books, hygiene items, like facecloths, a hairbrush or soap (in a sealed container), or toys and other gifts like stuffed animals, hair clips or a t-shirt.

A personal note and photo can also be included in the box.

Things that are not allowed include traditional decks of cards, violent looking toys, liquids, toothpaste and candy.

National Collection Week, when all the boxes are gathered up locally, will run from November 16-22.

They also ask that each donor includes $7 for a shipping and handling fee, if able to do so.

For more on how to get involved with charity work in Peru click here.

asoloducha@panow.com

On Twitter: @alex_soloducha

by Alex Soloducha

Prince Albert man sees Operation Christmas Child as a blessing in Peru

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