It is that time of year, where people are talking about getting together shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. While I think it is great to try to give extra joy to others, I want to write to urge people not to support this program.
Why?
Let me count the reasons.
1) Each box is filled with different objects, some of which will not be culturally appropriate.
2) Gift-giving is not a part of the Christmas traditions in many countries. In some where it is, people would be giving handmade gifts, or gifts carefully saved up for. What does our giving them our purchased stuff do to their local traditions? If soap or toothpaste is sent, are we suggesting to them we don't think they can maintain adequate hygiene? These are some of the thoughtful questions Jan Van Aertsalaer raised about the program.
3) The organization that ships them ads religious materials to the box. It seems strange to me that I hear families who talk about how it should be the parents choice what to teach the child, who do not seem to mind that an organization pushes religious propaganda on other people's children.
4) An article in the Guardian, by Rev. Dr. Giles Fraser, describes the problem this way: "US evangelicals employ a selective biblical literalism to support a theology that systematically confuses the kingdom of God with the US's burgeoning empire. It is no coincidence that the mission fields most favoured by US evangelicals are also the targets of neo-conservative military ambition. To use Jesus as the rallying cry for a new imperialism is the most shameful reversal of all, for he was murdered by the forces of empire. The cross spoke of Roman power in just the way Black Hawk helicopters speak today of US power."
There are many, many good alternatives to Operation Christmas Child.
Ten Thousand Villages runs programs collecting school supplies for children in the developping world. Unlike Operation Christmas Child, they insist that each bag is filled with the same content to ensure that all the children receive appropriate supplies.
The United Church of Canada allows people to sponsor projects such as fixing clubfeet and buying bicycles for pasters in Zimba through their Gifts With Vision program. It is a program that works to spread the love of God without the imperialistic drive that Operation Christmas Child has.
If you want the fun of packing and choosing gifts, buy gifts for a local family in need. There are programs almost everywhere allowing people to sponsor local families. Your gifts will be so much more culturally appropriate for a family near to you than it would for a recipient of Operation Christmas Child.
Visit pursestrings.ca for more information. Or better yet, read this report (from a United Church perspective).
Thanks so much for writing about this.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 21, I spent 3 months in a very rural and remote area of India, and I brought a giant bag of donated toys with me from home (Australia). I was really embarrassed when I started giving the things out at a little school in a beggars' village... the looks on the kids faces when I gave them the toys just said 'What good is this?' They had no use for fluffy toys. They needed food, medical supplies and clean water, but toys not so much. I also realised that the parents would feel the same way and that these useless little trinkets would be sold the next day to get money for food.
In our culture, we think that toys are essential to a child's well being but that actually isn't true. They had never had them and they didn't crave them. Promise. When they wanted to play they used their imaginations (sticks, dirt, old bicycle tyres... that sort of thing).
I also took donated clothes so I hear what you are saying about cultural appropriateness. There was this cute little pair of girl's boots which were totally inappropriate for a village where nobody wears shoes. In addition, the cost of sending these items is more than if you just gave them $2 to buy their own clothes in their own country (you have to consider all the taxes, plus the bogus taxes that every official wants to charge at each step!)
Sorry I've gone on a little bit... I feel quite passionately about this!
Teacher Kirra:Maestra Kirra
Thank you for sharing your experience!
DeleteThanks for posting this! I want to organize an "Operation Shoebox"-type of activity for my preschooler (who I homeschool) and her playgroup, but I don't agree with the religious ideology that is "presented" with the boxes. The alternate ideas for gift-giving are awesome, and your suggestion to give locally really resonates with me because I live in NYC and so many people have been affected by SuperStorm Sandy. You've inspired me to think beyond the shoebox!
ReplyDeleteGood post! Thank you for considering the religious and cultural sensitivities of others. I come from a developing country so it wasn't difficult to locate suitable beneficiaries -- our 300+ boxes went to children living with their mothers in women's prisons and women's shelters, the urban poor, indigenous children living in settlements and refugee and undocumented migrant children. I assisted with a large scale shoebox project in my city in 2009 & 2010. We had a few basic rules: (i) No religious or evangelical items or literature; (ii) Nothing battery-operated -- it's bad for the environment, wasteful and rendered useless when the batteries run out; (iii) Nothing culturally inappropriate -- nail varnish and lipstick are meant for adults, not little girls; (iii) No toy weapons or anything military-related (some of the children we work with are victims of trauma); (iv) nothing heavily scented or that could spill, because a soap bar in a box easily makes all the candy, cookies and everything else smell and taste of soap.
ReplyDeleteWe provided guidelines as to appropriate gifts -- gender-neutral, school-related gifts are best because the children will need these items for school. Also, the school term in Malaysia starts in January, so giving out these boxes in December are entirely appropriate. The children and their parents were thrilled to receive boxes filled with standard-issue school notebooks and white socks, sturdy pencil cases, school supplies, handkerchiefs, eco-friendly reusable water bottles and food containers, arts and crafts materials, books, pocket dictionaries, band-aids and puzzles. The recipients and donors were all of different faiths and backgrounds and all benefited from the project. The added advantage for us was that we didn't have to fly or ship all these packages abroad -- needy children were all around us, and we just had to know where to look. Alternative beneficiaries could include women in shelters (give personal care products, handkerchiefs, coin purses, mints, etc), patients in public hospitals for low-income families (give personal care products, cheering comic books and magazines, mints, moisturizer, chapsticks, something colorful and decorative) and animals in shelters (dog and cat toys and treats).