January 2013
Around
Christmastime 2011, I noticed an Operation Christmas Child shoe box in my
supervisor’s house that was sitting in the corner of his living room. Operation
Christmas Child is a program through Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian
organization that sends shoe boxes filled with gifts to children in developing
countries. Churches in the US fill them up and package then for shipping. I
asked him about it and then he asked me if there was a way we could have boxes
delivered to Aplahoue in 2012. I told him I would see what I could do. After
talking to people at Samaritan’s Purse and the Peace Corps staff, I didn’t have
any luck getting a hold of anyone. So, we came up with a plan B.
After
talking with my parents, we decided to see if we could put together our own
form of Operation Christmas Child for orphans and handicapped children in the
district of Aplahoue (like a county). I guess one could call it Operation Noel,
Aplahoue 2012. We put together of list
of items to include for the gifts and started seeing how we could get them sent.
Graciously, the mission committee at our church (Trabuco Presbyterian Church) said
they could donate about fifty gifts and spread the word to complement them. People
from the church came through with all the rest of the items. Other people
chipped in to cover the shipping costs. Eight, large, flat-rate boxes were shipped to
Benin in mid-October and arrived a mere three weeks later- a record speed! My parents brought me the gifts for about
fifty kids with them to Paris, where we met for vacation in August.
In the
months leading up to the event, my supervisor, who is the director of the
county social center, got to work. Since we knew the gifts were coming, he
wanted to make an event out of it. It was a great example of collaboration with
everyone doing their part. We started making of list of what would end up to be
200 children, ages 3-16 who would receive gifts. I made visits to some of their
houses to get a feel for their situations and learn their stories, which I will
describe below.
Benedicte Degbe (6 years old): has mild cerebral palsy (not officially diagnosed), had meningitis/seizures as an infant, and now comes to the social center for “therapy.”
Gerard/Geraldine (9 year old twins): Mother died during child birth (hemorrhage), father abandoned them and has no contact with them, live with grandparents.
Sylvain Sodokin, (16 years old): Both parents died (when he was 2 and then 9 years old), only child, lives with his older cousin and his 2 wives who take care of 8 kids, is in his last year of primary school at 16 years old either because he started school late or has had to retake classes.
Mivode Soglahoun (11 years old): Lives with her widowed aunt and 4 other kids, during summer break she resells things at the market.
A couple
of months ago, when my supervisor was still trying to figure out how to sponsor
the event, we met a man who runs an NGO out of Cotonou. They visit towns in
southern Benin and bring a Christmas party for orphans. The timing was perfect and was yet another
instance of collaboration. The
organization would contribute Santa Claus (Papa Noël) and the police escort. We
were still in need of other sponsors to rent tents, chairs, DJ, sound system,
food, and drinks. We also sent out letters to people in the community asking
for their help, but didn’t receive much this way.
Most
things for events in this country happen at the last minute. Less than a week
before the event was scheduled, the date was changed, for the second time. Plan
Benin, an American NGO that has a large presence in Benin decided to help us
out as well. Because of their help, we were able to give more gifts (about 100
more!), serve the kids lunch, and pay for the sound system. Throughout the week
before, the local Japanese volunteer and I organized the gifts by gender and
age. It was a lot of fun seeing all of the wonderful things everyone sent for
the kids. Some items included toy cars,
balls, notebooks, crayons, toothbrushes, combs, nail polish, flip flops,
stuffed animals, jewelry, clothes, backpacks, sports equipment, and candy. Plan
Benin also donated a t-shirt and children’s books about children’s rights to
every child.
Finally,
December 24th came and the festivities began. Obviously, there was a
lot of running around mainly by my supervisor to make sure things were being
set up. There was also a lot of waiting
around. The NGO that was bringing Santa had another event a few hours away that
morning and didn’t show up until late afternoon. We held the event at a nearby
orphanage called Village of Hope that also has a primary school on its grounds.
The children arrived early, all dressed up and ready for Santa. Unfortunately,
they just had to sit and wait. After the chairs and tents were set up, the DJ
kept them company with music and some kids danced. Eventually, lunch was served
(Spanish-style rice with fish) and everyone got a soda. Important people
started showing up such as the local district/county officials, a TV station,
and finally the mayor. In any event such
as this one, you cannot begin until all of the important people show up, even
if that means they are hours late.
 |
| Everyone waiting for Santa to arrive |
When
Santa “Papa Noël” arrived, he was escorted in by Santa’s helpers. All of the
kids looked surprised and excited to see this strange man walking in. Apparently Santa can only be a white man
because the costume covers up his skin.
Santa wears a mask, latex gloves, and rubber boots; not the most
comforting image for children in my opinion. Once he was seated, the ceremony
was kicked off with a group of professional dancers. Then a traditional welcome dance was
performed by the kids that live at the Village of Hope. Typical speeches describing the reason for
the event, its sponsors, thanks, and welcome were given by the mayor, Plan
Benin, the Christmas NGO, and then me. It was no easy feat to speak in French to
everyone present in addition to everyone watching on TV, so I made it short and
sweet, ending with “bonne fête” (have a good party), and “akpe nomi lo” (thank you
in Adja).
With the
help of two other Peace Corps Volunteers, one Japanese volunteer, Santa’s
helpers, Santa, and the social center staff, we started distributing gifts.
There were children present that were not on our list, so we had to be careful
when handing out the gifts. When a name
was called, a Santa’s helper picked a gift according to their gender and age,
handed it to Santa, who then handed it to the child. As far as I could tell,
this worked out well, and at the end we had leftover gifts. The mayor also gave
every child 500 FCFA (about 1$) with the idea that they could buy something special
for dinner that night.
 |
| Santa and Santa's helpers giving out presents |
Overall,
Operation Noël, Aplahoue 2012 was a success. With any luck, this event can
continue in the years to come. Thank you to everyone who donated gifts, helped
us get everything to Benin, or kept us in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks for
sending your Christmas cheer! Best wishes for 2013 everyone!
 |
| A participant and her gifts |
