Christmas in Colombia

Christmas is a time of year enjoyed by many children and families around the world and our kids in Colombia are no different. Although many children in our care come from very poor backgrounds, each child at our Centro Educativo Cristiano School receives a Christmas present each year, thanks to a project set up by one of our Colombian supporters a few years ago and also the generous support from our UK sponsors.

Karen Perez started the project and was later joined by Claudia Chaparro. They encouraged their friends and work colleagues to donate Christmas presents, including toys and essential items such as nutritional supplements, to help improve the well-being of our children. The project has proved very successful and the children have benefitted from it greatly, and they look forward to their gifts from this project and their sponsors each year.

Christmas 2013 could have been very different, however, as the local bank who donate the gifts and who Karen works for, decided to give their collection to another worthy cause. This was a concern for the Stand by Me staff in Colombia as they knew how much the children looked forward to receiving these presents.

A week before Christmas, we began receiving unexpected presents from other supporters in the area who wanted to bless the children at the school. The gifts were collected and delivered to the children and they had a very special day celebrating Christmas with their Stand by Me family and friends. They even had clowns to bring some fun and laughter, which the children thoroughly enjoyed, and they celebrated with their favourite foods.

Thanks to the generous support from our sponsors and the people in Colombia, the children were able to celebrate Christmas in such a special way. If you would like to know more about our work in Colombia, please visit our Colombia pages