Two-year-old Emilia was intrigued by a baby doll which she found in her box, while Dana, who is six, loved a pink purse filled with coloured markers. The sisters were young enough to be easily distracted from the calamities which overwhelmed their family in 2023. They lost their brother when he was crushed by a car. And then their home in a village near Satu Mare, Romania, was flooded, leaving them without adequate accommodation for the winter.

“They were so grateful for our visit,” says shoebox distributor Pastor Mihai Micula. “They said that seeing us there was like a glimmer of hope.”