From Shropshire with love

Wrapped up with love from a Shropshire pupil, a very special Christmas present has been opened thousands of miles away in Eastern Europe.

Fizz Scarratt, nine, from Beech Grove in Oswestry, made her Operation Christmas Child shoebox along with many others in the junior school. Most went to a warehouse run by Christian charity Samaritan's Purse.

But one had a special journey to Belarus with Shropshire Star reporter Sue Austin and a team of volunteers.

See our photo gallery below

It was given to six-year-old Vera Nabo during a visit to a kindergarten at Bragin, near to the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Everyone in the class received a shoebox.

Vera's eyes lit up when I handed her the present.

As she opened the Christmas paper, her eyes grew wider and wider when she saw the lovely gifts that Fizz had chosen for her.

She said she especially like the cuddly hippo that Fizz had chosen, her pens and the clever brush that folded up into a circle.

She felt how soft the gloves hat, gloves and scarf set were, then, as if she didn't want them to disappear, she carefully closed the box lid and hugged the box.

Vera took a craft set Fizz had bought when shopping with her mum, to her teacher who showed her that it could be made into a chime mobile.

And she then went across the classroom to fetch her twin sister Natasha. The two of them looked in each other's boxes and it was really emotional when, seeing that she had more sweets than her sister, Vera put one of her packet of sweets in Natasha's box.

Over the past week the 15 strong team, including Zoe Gregg from Telford and Shiona Ferriday from Sutton Maddock, gave out about 800 Operation Christmas Child boxes at churches, schools, children's homes, a family crisis centre and a support group for HIV-positive families.

Shiona, from St Mary's Church and group of parishes, said: "It has been very busy and there have been some very moving moments. I have been particularly interested in visiting the school and seeing how the education system works in Belarus."

She and Zoe said they wanted to thank everyone who had helped them to raise the money for the trip and also everyone in Shropshire and Mid Wales who donated Operation Christmas Child boxes.nextpage

Children at the Revival Pentacostal Church in Stolbtsy

One of the youngsters at the Carolinea Boarding School nextpage

Vera Nabo, six, opens her Operation Christmas Child present box. It was sent by Fizz Scarratt of Oswestry.

Vera and sister Natasha are seen at the Honiki Kindergarten

The Shropshire Star's Sue Austin and Vera Nabo at the Honiki Kindergartennextpage

Youngsters at the kintergarten in Svetlogorsk, Belarus