KIND-hearted residents from across the West Midlands have put smiles on the faces of Romanian families this Christmas.
Shoeboxes full of gifts were collected across the region, helping to fill a 40 tonne truck with nearly 3,000 items.
There were also lots of blankets and warm clothes sent out to support vulnerable people in the eastern European country during its bitterley cold winter, where temperatures can drop to minus 15 degrees.
The trip to Romania was part of an effort by charity the Amen Trust.
Last Christmas Stratford couple Anne and Malcoln McCulloch visited Romania to distribute shoeboxes with the charity, and say it was heartwarming to see how appreciated they were.
Malcolm told the Observer: “For us both it was good to go back again two years after our last visit. We visited some of the same villages as last time and again saw the very basic conditions that many families were living in.
“Rather than walking through mud this time we were walking through snow – there were six days in a row when the daytime temperature did not rise above freezing.
“We were reminded at how appreciated the gift of a shoebox is. To us in the UK these are our everyday items but to these Romanian families they are a reminder that someone cares enough to give them the only gift they will receive at Christmas.”
