Rafael is one of the students at Raza de Soare, a school for children with special needs in Arad, Romania. Abandoned by his mother and diagnosed with autism, he was left in the care of his father who did not know how to help him. Rafael was 11 when he started school. Now he is a calmer person and can make decisions for himself.

Raza de Soare means sunshine, and Principal Corina Lobont says that your gifts brightened Christmas for Rafael and for the other children in her care.

“Your kindness and thoughtfulness brought genuine joy, excitement and smiles to our students,” she writes. “For many of them, these gifts meant much more than material presents – they represented care, inclusion, and the reassurance that they are valued and remembered by the community.

“Thank you for making the Christmas season brighter for our children.”