CREDITON Courier correspondent, Margaret Tucker, has been busy packing shoeboxes for the children in Moldova, the poorest country in Eastern Europe, which used to be part of the USSR.

Margaret says the 81 shoeboxes represented each year of her life! and that she really loves doing them, and probably gets as much pleasure by doing them, as the children do when they receive them.

She thanks several local people who have given her items for the boxes, also rolls of good quality wrapping paper for the boxes, to Kate at Refurnish who has also helped a lot and to a friend who gave cash which bought the rucksacks.

She says she starts looking for bargains to put in the boxes in the January sales, and continues all year. Each box contains the basics, eg, soap, flannel, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrush, plus warm hats and gloves, and school stationery, crayons etc, a toy or two, water pistols are very popular with the boys! also balloons, and for the girls, perhaps a piece of jewellery, plus of course sweets and chocolates, and a Christmas card, with a family photograph.

Margaret has also made a number of shoeboxes for senior school children, aged 12-16 years, which include rucksacks, greatly prized by older children and a couple for poor families and grandmothers.

The shoeboxes have now been taken to Exmouth for Christian Response to Eastern Europe, who will be taking then to Moldova in December.

This is run by Hugh Scudder of Kennford, who says most families in Moldova are very, very poor, and most children will have nothing at Christmas.

The temperature in the winter can go as low as minus 40 degrees and in the villages they have no indoor toilets.

Mr Scudder said that they found a father and son, who only had the clothes they stood up in, so you can imagine how important the shoeboxes are to these children and their families.

Margaret has even had a couple of letters back, although they were not written in English it was obviously a Thank You letter.

During the year, Christian Response sends out another lorry, filled with clothes, bed linen and curtains, and other badly needed items.

Hugh Scudder also organises a soup kitchen and a party for the families, which is the highlight of their year.

Margaret also thanks her partner Derek, who has the job of tying the shoeboxes up securely with string, and also to Pam Webber, who kindly gave two more boxes to go, at the last minute!

Alan Quick