Last Christmas Jenny Tryhane's
dearest wish was rather unconventional. It was not for those
things which typically are thought to make the season bright
such as lit-up Christmas trees, or sumptuous treats of ham
and great cake.
Instead, all Jenny wanted for Christmas was
shoe-boxes – hundreds and hundreds of them.
We extended the project into
the Christmas 2007 season.
The children of Barbados were so excited about
the programme that they packed hundreds of boxes for the Maroons
in Suriname and the Caribs in Dominica in 2008 already!
United Caribbean Trust has a
deep desire to be an expression of the love of Christ on earth,
bringing hope to children in Haiti and Dominica responding
to meet the holistic needs of the child – physically,
emotionally and spiritually.
Sunday Schools have become involved, seen
here the little ones from Abundant Life. Well done
We want Make Jesus Smile
to be much more than a shoe box ministry, receiving this gift
means so much to the Haitian child the Honduras orphan and
the Dominican Carib Indian.
Just knowing that someone, from within the
Caribbean, whom they will probable never meet, cared.
Your efforts will bring joy, hope and a little of God’s
love into a desperately poor situation, remembering the
true meaning of Christmas...GIVING.
Thanks to Charles F Broom who packed
almost 300 boxes this Christmas.
Seen here the Head boy Nicholas
Rose and Paige Wills the Head girl from Wills Primary School
at CBC Morning Barbados, on Universal Children's Day November
20th 2007, sharing with the Barbadian public how good it was
to help the children in Barbados and encouraging them to also
get involved.
UCT's Make Jesus
Smile shoe box project has been a great success and it has
proven that the children on Barbados and we believe the Caribbean
enjoy actively helping children that are less privileged than
them.
A special thanks to all the 'hands of help' that helped to sort the boxes and get them ready for shipping, a great big thanks to DaCosta Manning for donating the warehouse for our use.
Out of this has been birthed
the idea to introduce the project into the Community Centres
and into the School Summer Camp.
Thanks to the Caribbean Development Bank
After School Care 'All
Stars Club' who did a wonderful job on shoe boxes this
Christmas.
We are now looking
to extend our Make Jesus Smile shoe box ministry into a Community
Based Mitigation Programme, introducing a similar project
calledMake
Jesus Smile Baby Boxes -
These boxes will be packed during the school
holidays and stockpiled leading up to the hurricane season.
Whilst at the Community Centre
the children will be taught a simple but efficient Disaster
Mitigation programme
Secondary Schools got involved this Christmas,
seen here Harrison's College leading the way.
Taking part is
so easy - by simply filling a shoe box with a range of small
items suitable for a child of your chosen gender and age range,
you can send a ‘box of hope’
to Haiti, Honduras, Dominica and Carriacou this Christmas
and New Year.
Please ensure that you wrap the lid separately
to the bottom and put a rubber band around the finished box.
Our
relationship with trusted in-country partners in Dominica and Haiti
ensures that each box is delivered to a needy child. 
