Samaritan's Purse has been around the globe many times over trying to
convert heathens and shine God's light into the darkness ie.
impoverished places with a lack of Christianity. While I don't agree
with evangelizing people, especially vulnerable children who then try to
convert their parents, I do like the idea of giving a gift to a child
far away. (And I think Samaritan's Purse exaggerates how many people
they've actually converted. Just because a child takes a free bible
study course and signs a piece of paper, doesn't mean they've truly
converted their heart and mind and soul. If I was poor and starving, I
would say yes to anything that gave me a free gift too.)
Despite
being an atheist, I decided to put together some of those famous shoe
boxes for 3 lucky girls and 3 lucky boys aged 10-14. I did a lot of
research for this project because I wanted the boxes to be of good
value. The suggestion list on the Samaritan's Purse website was not very
comprehensive and I found a lot of ideas elsewhere. The best ideas came
from those who actually helped hand out the boxes to the kids and saw
their reactions when they got opened.
Hygeine:
It
is suggested that I include some hygiene items such as soap, a face
cloth, and toothbrush. However, the soap stinks up everything in the box
and the children often don't use their soap if the smell is too strong.
In many parts of the world, face cloth aren't used, so when children
find these in their boxes they think they're rags and don't know what to
do with them. Also, sending hygiene supplies sends the message that the
way they clean themselves is not good enough and the Western way is
superior.
What I included from this category: Mom gave
me some hotel soap, a sponge, and some toothbrushes, so I put those in,
but not every box got it. Each box got tissues and a First Aid kid and I
added reusable sanitary napkins and cloth storage bag for the girls'
kits.
School:
It is suggested that I include various
school supplies. School supplies are the most popular thing to add to
the shoe box. They're in high demand and everyone cherishes them, so I
wanted to put in as much as I could. Mom contributed quite a bit for
this one working at a school and all.
What I included from this category:
Each box got a handful of pens, pencils, package of pencil crayons, an
eraser, pencil sharpener, notepad, scribblers, stickers, crayons,
markers, and a pencil case. Not too shabby.
Toys:
It
is suggested that I include something soft for the child to immediately
hug like a doll or stuffed animal. Toys are not the most popular things
in the shoe boxes. Most children just don't know what to do with a
stuffed animal or doll. Days are spent trying to find food and taking
care of younger siblings, not playing make-believe and hugging stuff.
Plus, I feel like most dolls sold in N.A. are not appropriate at all.
Blonde hair and blue eyes with ivory skin, sexy outfits, make-up... not
very relate-able.
What I included from this category:
My shoe boxes were for older kids so I included 2 or 3 things like,
travel magnet games like checkers, wooden dominos with animals instead
of dots, Jenga, jump ropes, hacky sack, Sudoka puzzles, and connect the
dot colouring books. I figured the missionaries could teach the kids how
to play if they were interested, or maybe they'd figure it out for
themselves, and if not, they could always sell or trade the toys to
someone for food.
Other:
It is suggested that I
include clothes, candy, and a photograph of my family and a short note. A
lot of people add full outfits, pajamas, shoes, and socks. You're
really taking a gamble adding these things because you don't know where
your box is going or what size to get. (Apparently God makes sure the
right box gets to the right child.) I don't believe that, so I chose not
to include those things and just get something more universal.
What I included from this category: I
added Cooler-style tote bags, (apparently sometimes the boxes get
damaged and at least the child will have a way to carry all of their
stuff home,) a large variety of hard candy, water bottles, and work
gloves. For the girls' I added hair barrettes and head bands, wooden
beads, assortment of embroidery thread, bamboo spoons and spatulas,
bamboo skewers, and some necklaces I never wear. For the boys' I added
twine and a solar powered flashlight.
I also wrote a short note that says: We hope you enjoy your gift! It was fun putting it together
for you. Have a great year and best wishes to you and your family. Much love. And
then I used Google Translate to translate the message into the 9
different languages of the countries these boxes could go to. (I read
some missionaries have an overwhelmingly amount of translating to do, so
I thought I'd make it simple for my boxes.) Some people send an
international stamp and stationary so the child can write them back and
thank them, but that would cost me another $12, so I doubt I'll do that.
(Though I do love mail and pen pals!)
I wanted
my gift to be practical. Everything could be sold or traded if it
couldn't be used by them and that's what was really important to me. I
wanted it all to be useful somehow and not some trinkety junky shit. A
lot of people add kids meal toys, and random toys from the dollar store,
but those aren't made to last and a lot of it isn't even culturally
appropriate. (Kids have been known to eat Play-dough and Silly Putty for
example since they don't know what it is or what it's for.) And I don't
know why, but a lot of people think it's okay to include battery
operated toys with an extra set of batteries. Once the batteries are
dead, that toy is useless. There are no batteries to buy where these
kids live. With Tesla's toys, her batteries are dead within months. It seems like a waste of a gift to me.
Each
box cost me $21.67 to fill. The suggested minimum donation of $7.00 per
box to help cover the cost of shipping would mean I'd have to pay $42
to the ministry. I'd get a tax receipt for it, but because this is
optional and I'm atheist I don't want to the give the ministry anything.
I'm already giving to the children. I bought the supplies and put it in
the box. What they do with it from there is up to them I guess. (Or
God?)
What these poor communities really need
is money. I was willing to spend $130 on stuff for complete strangers
who don't live in my country, yet I won't give $40 cash. That $130 would
go so much further there compared to the things I bought here with it.
That's just how we Westerners roll though. The way I see it, 100% of my
gift is going to a child, where as only a percentage of my cash donation
would actually go to the child and the rest would go to administration
type stuff.
Samaritan's Purse's number one objective is to
spread the gospel. That's what they use their money for and it's listed
clearly on their website. Helping impoverished people get access to
clean water, livestock, ect is just a by-product of their true goals.
They give gifts as a way of accessing communities to convert others.
Here's a goat, it's a gift from above, now listen to my sermon.
There
is an "optional" 12 week bible study course the kids can take. It's a
big deal with a graduation ceremony afterwards, including cap, gown, and
certificate. Apparently 9 out of 10 kids are coerced into doing it. I guess I'm hoping that my 6 boxes will go to the kids that are in that 10% that choose not to go. Either way, I won't ever be making shoe boxes for Samaritan's Purse again.
It was fun putting the boxes together, but there are better ways to give
and make a difference and definitely better charities as well.
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