Your gifts made Eleonora’s school day special

Eleonora takes your gifts home to grandma

Books and dolls are the two things nine-year-old Eleonora likes best. And when Blythswood shoeboxes were handed out at her school in southern Moldova, she discovered her box contained both.

The shampoo, soap and shower gel were less exciting but she said she would take them home to her grandmother. Like so many Moldovans of working age, Eleonora’s parents are away in Italy, leaving the girl to be brought up by her grandparents.

While the cost of living in the east European state is approximately half that of the UK, the average monthly salary equates to just a little over £500. For families like that of Eleonora, every shoebox gift is appreciated.