Every item in a shoebox is useful to families such as that of Melisa, in Kosovo

Something new for family dependent on recycling

Hand-me-downs don’t have to fit so long as they keep you warm. And that’s what matters to four-year-old Melisa as she clutches a Blythswood shoebox on a December day, outside her village home near Gjakova, Kosovo.

The new clothes which she will find in her shoebox will help, too. Shoebox distributor Faton Berisha explains that there are 10 children in the household, and that Melisa’s parents feed their family by gathering aluminium cans and scrap metal to sell to recyclers.

“It was great to see them so happy,” he says. “We gave them 12 boxes and they all found things which they needed – socks, underwear, T-shirts, hats, shampoo and soap. Melisa liked the toys and sweets best of all. Her parents were so thankful to see their children receive things which they could not afford to buy for them.”