NCC and partners bring joy to less fortunate children in districts |31 December 2021
Still in the spirit of Christmas celebrations, the National Council for Children yesterday donated gifts to eight of the less fortunate children in each district in the country.
The gifts for the 4 to 12-year-olds, sponsored by H Savy Insurance (HSI), Nouvobanq and 91Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Trading Company (STC), were handed over to the district administrators in a short ceremony held at the National Council for Children (NCC) headquarters, Bel Eau, yesterday morning.
Present were three children and some district administrators from Mahé, NCC chief executive Yasmin Umarji, NCC staff, Marie-Paul Samson, manager corporate affairs at HIS; Madeleine Aalfs, head of human resource at Nouvobanq; and Betty Underwood, marketing manager at STC.
In a symbolic gesture, three children from the Mont Fleuri district were presented with their gifts and this was followed by those for other children collected by their district administrators. The gifts for the less fortunate children on Praslin and La Digue were sent to their district administrators the previous day (Wednesday).
Mrs Umarji said the council was approached by HIS with a cash donation to host a Christmas party for the children but due to health restrictions as a result of the Coivd-19 pandemic, it was not possible to host the party.
She added that under the council’s chosen theme ‘Give a child a gift’ for this Christmas, they sought the help of other sponsors to buy gifts for eight children (based on the sponsorship) in each district.
Before the gifts were handed over to be delivered to the children, they and all present received the blessing of Reverend Christine Benoit from the Anglican church.
Mrs Umarji later explained that the ‘Give a child a gift’ theme is an initiative designed to enable NCC to continue to work in collaboration with other organisations and individuals from all walks of life who want to donate a gift to a child, especially during the festive season.
She added that since the start of the pandemic, NCC has seen a rise in the number of families making contact to seek for monetary support or access to food parcels. NCC staff have used their personal funds to help some of the very needy families as well as signpost them to agencies such as social affairs, Red Cross Society of 91Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, Make a Child Smile, Agency for Social Protection (ASP) and individuals who are helping others in greater need.
Mrs Umarji noted that during the festive season, many vulnerable families within the local communities and who are most at risk, can feel isolated and depressed with little or no money to pay for food, let alone buy a gift for their children. Therefore, this is the main reason why NCC sought the help of partners who were willing to contribute.
The accompanying photos show some highlights of the event yesterday.
