My First Christmas Gift

In some parts of the world, parents struggle to decide which Christmas presents to get their children. In other circumstances parents struggle to make ends meet and even to provide a special meal to celebrate Christmas.

Less than three months after being registered with Tearfund’s partner Compassion International, 5-year-old Bonheur from Rwanda celebrated his first Christmas at the project and received his first Christmas present.

Bonhuer opens his first ever Christmas present.

"I'm so happy for the gift I received this Christmas. I love the shoes and shirt the most because they are my favourite colour," Bonheur says.

Bonheur also said he enjoyed the lunch he had during the celebrations at the project.

“I thank my sponsor for my Christmas gift and for the nice lunch, I love meat and rice,” says Bonheur.

Annet, Bonheur’s mother, was speechless when her son not only received a Christmas gift, but also a 25-kilogram sack of rice, cooking oil, a bag of corn flour and sugar from the project.

The Compassion staff giving Bonheur and his mother food supplies.

"It’s his first Christmas gift. It’s the first gift he has ever received. As a single mother, I don't have the luxury of buying him a gift, as I get little money from digging to feed us. I wish to thank Bonheur’s sponsor for giving my son so much joy in the short time he has been at the project," Annet explains.

Annet got pregnant when she was in year 9 at school, and Bonheur’s father didn’t want anything to do with her or the child.

“In 2013, I got pregnant. It was a tough time for me, as I was living with my grandmother. When my father died, my mother remarried, and her husband didn’t like us at all. So, she abandoned my brother and me at my grandmother’s house. When I got pregnant, my grandmother kicked me out of her home. Later, a distant family member welcomed me to live with them in this house, and this is where Bonheur and I have been living ever since he was born,” Annet says.

Annet had been struggling to take care of Bonheur as a single mother.

“I felt very fortunate when my child got registered into the project. I’m happy that I’m getting not only financial support, but that my child will be inspired and prayed for by a caring person out there in the world. It is a reassuring feeling that all will be well with my child and that his future is bright.” The Christmas celebration at Bonheur’s centre involves a choir performing song about the birth of Jesus and a delicious meal.

The meal served at the Christmas celebration.

According to Faustin Muragizi, the project director, the Christmas celebration held at the project teaches the children to be joyful that Jesus Christ was born into this world to save mankind.

“The Christmas celebration held here at the project prior to Christmas Day is not only a day for making merry, but also a time for us as the body of Jesus Christ to proclaim the Word of God to the children, so that they can understand the significance of the birth of Jesus Christ,” says Faustin.

“We have parents and children who request their Christmas gifts to be a nice meal such as rice, french fries and beef stew, which they prepare on December 25th and share as a family. They are always grateful that their day is made,” says Faustin.

Give a child, like Bonhuer, a Christmas gift this year by buying one of our Give a Christmas Gift Gift for Life cards.

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