In the harsh winters of Eastern Europe, life is difficult and extremely hard on the poor. Food is scarce or lacking altogether. Many fall sick. Many feel weary, discouraged and disillusioned. For them, we have a surprise. Thousands receive parcels that include items they otherwise can only dream about.

An Operation Christmas Love parcel is a true Christmas gift and the only luxury the family is going to know. It’s a message of hope and love during a season when families are especially needy and vulnerable.

Period in which OCL parcels will be distributed:

The time-frame for distribution is officially December for all field countries except Ukraine, as Christmas is celebrated in that country in January. Donations and goods must be purchased and packaged well in time to reach the needy so timing is always very important. However, we also have a FamilyCare parcel program which benefits families throughout the year.

Number of parcels in total:

A minimum of 30, 000 parcels will be delivered to children, the elderly & handicapped and families Christmas 2008.

Contents of an OCL Parcel:

It is our goal to fill as much of the OCL parcel as possible with Gifts In Kind, which are goods donated to Mission Without Borders by companies in Europe, the USA abd Canada. This saves us money and increase the value of each parcel. Typically each parcel contains canned meat, powdered milk, baby food, coffee, soup mixes, rice, cooking oil, sugar, flour, past, canned fruit and vegetables. There are also sweets and toys for children and a New Testament or other Christian books for the whole family. Each parcel weighs on average 12kg.