Times may be a little tough in Britain right now, but we are already seeing large orders placed for Christmas which suggests that many children will certainly not go short this year. Even if the presents are slightly smaller or a little less expensive it’s safe to say that Christmas will still be a joyous occasion with plenty of toys, food and drink.
Contrast that with the lives of millions of children in the third world who may not know when they will next have enough to eat, let alone have any kind of toy to play with. Of course, there’s poverty in Britain, but nothing like that found in parts of Africa, India or South America.
That’s why we were keen to offer the Charity “Hands Around the World” the opportunity to send a leaflet to every one of our customers who order before Christmas. and with every catalogue, we send out. In the words of their Mission Statement, “Hands Around the World seeks to help vulnerable children around the world, encouraging enthusiastic and well-prepared volunteers to offer practical help, skill-sharing, support and friendship”. In other words, a charity that not only looks for donations but, unusually, is run by a group of people with skills to offer who take practical steps to improve a lot of children in other countries, and who seek out others prepared to give of their own time to do the same.
The founders of Hands Around the World are old friends of my wife – going back further than any of them would like to admit! – so we know this is a really worthwhile cause run by people who really care. Take a look at their website http://www.hatw.org.uk/ to get an idea of what they do.
If what you see encourages you, or one of your family, to ‘give a hand, not a handout’ – please do get in touch with them. Of course, they will also be happy to receive donations too. Whatever you can offer we know they’ll be delighted to hear from you.
