Caithness company brings festive cheer to Romanian kids
A Caithness contractor and his wife are helping bring smiles at Christmas for some of the poorest children in Europe who struggle to find their next meal.
Gerald Henderson and his wife Angela are well-known for their company GMR Henderson Builders Ltd but a less known story concerns their charitable generosity.
Angela went over to Romania with her husband and son Logan to help with the UK charity Paws2Rescue – which gives aid to neglected dogs – when they were confronted with the harrowing issue of child poverty in that country.
“Our family adopted a Romanian dog in the summer of 2019," said Angela.
"We then went over to Romania volunteering to try and help the desperate situation with the dogs over there. When we were out there we gained more local knowledge of just how desperately sad it is for far too many children."
The couple helped organise a collection of donations for underprivileged kids including gifts to open at Christmas as well as other items.
"My husband and I donated the transport vehicle and men to carry out the task but it's myself and a friend who have collected, sorted, boxed and labelled two containers full of warm clothing, toys, prams, pushchairs, baby walkers and food for the Paws2Rescue Christmas 2020 Shoebox Appeal."
Angela said that the generosity of the county has been "outstanding" and the family is very grateful for all the donations received. "We had the added bonus of used toys, prams and cots being donated as well as approximately 100 shoebox gifts for the children along with warm clothes.”
Local haulage company D Stevens provided an articulated lorry with a curtain-side trailer as all available GMR Henderson vehicles had been utilised. Pallets filled with donated festive and winter goodies were loaded at Highland Workwear in Wick before heading south to Glasgow and then Surrey where the charity operation was based.
Angela said: "For the eighth year now Paws2Rescue, from whom we adopted our Romanian dog Adi, have dedicated their time and effort into the annual shoebox appeal to try and bring a smile to the faces of some of the children at Christmas – many of whom receive nothing more than an orange as a gift."
"After seeing photos of the children in bare feet in the snow, I knew that if nothing else, our community had plenty of warm coats and footwear that were just what they needed. I started by collecting our grandchildren’s used clothing and from there it just snowballed.
"I then decided to put an appeal on Facebook and as you can see from the photos, Caithness kindness filled an artic full of used warm winter clothing."
More information on the Romanian kids shoebox appeal can be found at www.paws2rescue.com/christmas-appeal-2020/
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