The nationwide Children Helping Children (Aktion Kinder Helfen Kindern) campaign, initiated by ADRA Germany, took place for the 24th time in late 2023.
The Children Helping Children campaign was launched on September 20, World Children's Day. Once again, many children took part, together with their parents and grandparents, and packed parcels containing toys and useful items for children from poor Eastern European families. This year, 25,546 parcels were collected. ADRA Germany announced that most of the parcels were handed over to the children before Christmas.
"Every parcel is a sign of compassion and solidarity. We would like to thank the many volunteers who make the campaign possible in the first place. Even though around 1,000 fewer parcels were collected this year than last year, the total is a great success," says Michael Weller, director of Children Helping Children for ADRA Germany.
From November 27 to December 7, cargo trucks left the nationwide collection points for the destination countries. There, the trucks were unloaded, and the parcels were taken to the children in smaller vans.
Campaign’s 25th Anniversary
In 2024, Children Helping Children will enter its 25th year. For a quarter of a century, ADRA and its many partners have been able to collect over 500,000 parcels and deliver them to children in need. Anyone wishing to support children in Eastern Europe can either pack a parcel or make a donation. According to ADRA Germany, €8 (approx. US$8.60) covers the cost of materials, labor, and postage for a Christmas parcel. Many companies, groups, kindergartens, schools, churches, and individuals support the campaign with money or donations in kind.
About Children Helping Children
The Children Helping Children campaign has been running since 1999, starting every year on World Children's Day (20 September) and running until mid-November. Empty parcels are handed out in daycare centers, schools, and the neighborhood. Children and adults fill them in their family or church circles, check the contents, and take the parcels to the collection points distributed throughout Germany, where they are loaded onto cargo trucks.
This time, the parcels went to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. ADRA Germany is coordinating the collection, transport, and distribution in the target countries. Through the campaign, children in Germany learn more about the situation of their peers in other parts of the world. They learn to share and show charity. The campaign is therefore part of the development education work of ADRA Germany. Further information can be found here.
Since 1999, children, parents, and grandparents throughout Germany have been packing Christmas parcels for children from poor families in Eastern Europe. This year, children from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia are looking forward to the heartwarming Christmas presents from Germany.
About ADRA Germany
ADRA Germany is part of a worldwide network with 118 independent country offices and around 7,500 full-time employees. ADRA Germany was founded in 1987 as an independent non-governmental organization by the Seventh-day Adventist Church; it carries out projects in development cooperation and humanitarian aid. The German office, with around 50 employees, is located in Weiterstadt, near Darmstadt. For further information, please go here.
The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-European Division website.