By Joyce Connolly | Christmas Elf
We hope you had as wonderful and merry a Christmas as we did. Thanks to your generous donation our children really had a day to remember this year. We received an incredible amount of donations which meant we could really spoil them. Hopefully you saw our video of their letters to Santa, they asked for so little we decided to get each of our 13 dormitories (including those for our over 18's) a selection of some of the gifts they asked for.
For the first time our Rehab Center children hung their stockings out on Christmas Eve and like millions of other children around the world they marvelled at how Santa had managed to get into their rooms to leave them Cadbury's chocolates without them waking up. Later that day Santa's Christmas elf delivered two DVD players to their caregivers (one for the boys' section and another for the girls). They were so happy and excited to receive these gifts and as their cheers subsided little did they know what was still to come...
Cue Father Christmas who came cycling into the excited crowd, jingling the bell of one of the bicycles you helped us buy. After some songs and magic tricks from the man in red, the children entered our school, dorm by dorm, where Santa and his elves were waiting with more gifts. Each dormitory received a bicycle, wall clock, badminton set, DVD and board games and each child was also given an orange. They were truly overwhelmed and thrilled by it all and seeing their faces light up as they were given each gift was delightful. We have put together a short video so you can experience some of the magic yourself, you can watch it below.
On top of all this Santa was also able to visit with the girls in our Balbhavan slum schools, the children at our Adoption Center and Himmatgram (farm) and the children with disabilities living at our sister Anamprem organisation, spreading festive cheer and distributing chocolates and oranges.
Thank you for embracing the spirit of the season to give to those who have so little so much. As I write this I can hear their bicycle bells ringing and their laughter as they share and play with all of their gifts. It's amazing to see so many of them out enjoying their games and bikes together. Your gift has made a lasting impact and for that the whole Snehalaya family would like to truly thank you for being a part of such a memorable Christmas.
Merry Christmas and we wish you a happy new year.
(Unfortunately, the elves were a little overworked this year so the radio alarm clocks we will also be giving them didn't quite arrive in time but as soon as they do we will be giving the to the caregivers to pass on to each dormitory.)
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