Christmas is coming - ideas on how to celebrate!

Desperately in need

Mark holding hailstone which hit the Coronation Camp recently

Christmas is coming soon and Lumiere Charity is gearing up to celebrate! Since the first of January we have been buying items on sales/ bulk offers for cheap prices/ special offers from book stores. Our large cardboard boxes have been packed, and we are packing them ready to go. For a number of years now Lumiere has been sending gifts in the Christmas spirit to children we have been helping over the world; India, Romania, Ireland, Uganda, South Africa. In the spirit of Lumiere, why not pack your own shoebox size gift, or big box if you have the means, and give it/ send it to someone really in need. And sometimes the person most in need may be in your own family, in your neighbourhood or in your village/ town/ city's poorer areas. 

Things that are useful for Christmas gift boxes are schoolbooks; schoolclothes; combs; toiletries; books; clothing and underwear; suitable shoes for the climate; fees for the child's schooling or for the older youth's schooling/ graduation/ post graduation education. Food and/or subsidised meals for the child/ family are most helpful. I know that the recession has hit us all hard. But the beautiful result of the recession has been that the oldfashioned values of pulling together as a community, watching out for each other, learning to make do and to be thrifty are thriving and strong. Friendships are growing as we reach out to each other for help and support. If you can afford a small box to help someone in need, please think of this gift at Christmas. If you do not have the finances necessary for this, please support from your spiritual wealth with a prayer, a kind smile or a good deed in the spirit of Christmas. These are emotional and social sources of wealth in our communities. 

Among the many projects which Lumiere Charity supports is that of Coronation Park, where Mark van der Walt ministers among the poor and destitute. The people in the area have been suffering greatly in the last few months. Since our last blog post, the camp was hit by hailstones with massive damage being caused at the Camp to the already poor dwellings. The camp has 240 residents with 76 children all in need of assistance; the youngest is three months old. 

Finances have become so tight for Mark and his team of volunteers that they are battling to honour their commitments to the families they support.  As well as assisting at Coronation Park, they assist in other areas, including;
Tearfull Eye - a creche which looks after children so that their parents are able to go and work
Doulos Ministries - care for ill and terminally HIV/ Aids positive children in Meyerton, South Africa
St Laurence's Children's Haven 
Avril Elizabeth Home
Further blog posts will tell you more about these deserving ministries.
Why not make a donation towards Mark and his team's work this Christmas? Funds are tight and many are in need, especially children at their most vulnerable.
You can contact Mark at email
markvanderwalt@telkomsa.net
or
lumierecharity@yahoo.co.uk

*First photograph taken by Catherine Nicolette with permission, second and third photographs from 
Mark van der Walt