'Often these shoebox gifts are the only gift that a child will receive in their lifetime', says Ann Kealy

Team Hope’s Christmas Shoebox Appeal is an annual campaign that delivers gifts straight into the hands of children affected by poverty.

Often these shoebox gifts are the only gift that a child will receive at Christmas and the joy that they bring is incredible. Since 2010, with the help of the people of Ireland Team Hope have delivered over 2.5 million Shoebox gifts to Vulnerable Children across the world.

Ann Kealy is one of the joint coordinates for Kilkenny’s Team Hope, a role she has enjoyed for 28 years.

Originally from Thomastown Ann is a retired psychiatric nurse. She trained in Canice’s in Kilkenny and was the charge nurse (matron) for years in England before returning home 28 years ago. Here is a glimpse into Ann’s world of shoeboxes…

Ever since you moved back to Ireland you have been involved in Team Hope. How did it all start for you?

I became involved with the Girl Guides, and we got a flyer in the Girl Guide booklet about Team Hope. So, we started making shoe boxes with them.

That was also the year Team Hope started up. We started off making shoe boxes with the Brownies and the Girl Guides and Kilkenny’s Christmas Shoebox appeal was  started.

Roll on 28 years later and we have many organisations, schools and individuals helping us. Last year we sent out over 6,000 shoe boxes from Kilkenny alone, with 172,000 in total leaving Ireland in 2022.

The whole concept of the Christmas shoeboxes is to give a gift from one child to another.

Yes, and an individual can do it too. The nice thing is that a child can make it and give something to another child.

The lovely thing is that no matter how small a child they can get involved. My children have been involved since they were tiny. They're adults now so my granddaughter is now doing it.

She is six and absolutely loves doing it and preaches to everybody to get their shoe boxes ready!

For anyone that doesn’t know about the Christmas Shoebox appeal. Can you explain what they are filled with?

The shoe boxes are filled with the four W’s - something to write with, something to wash with, something to wear and a wow, which could be something for them to play with.

We also ask for €5 to be inserted with every box and that’s to cover the shipping of them to where they are most needed.

It’s important that the lid and the box are wrapped separately because we have to check every single box before it leaves. In fact, they are checked three times.

First check it to remove the money and the contraband. We get a lot of contraband, such as chocolate etc. Chocolate melts if it’s sent to Africa and it blemishes with the cold weather in Eastern Europe.

No liquids, because if they freeze, they can spill and destroy a box. We also don’t allow war toys because a lot of these children are from war-torn areas and the last thing that you want is to remind them of war. So, no toy guns, no war clothes of any sort. No skeletons or snakes because in Africa that's not the done thing.

We get a lot of that stuff, and we have to remove it. However, nothing goes to waste as we make hampers of the toiletries and raffle them off to get more money to make up fillers for the boxes that are not as full.

We appreciate every box, but some people don’t have enough money to fill up a box completely. So, we have fillers for those boxes.

The volunteers’ houses are full of these fillers. We buy stuff in sales all year long. Our attics and spare rooms are full of stuff.

Just some of the Kilkenny Team Hope volunteers

You are joint co-ordinator with Rita McGuinness and you have some group of volunteers.

We have an amazing bunch of volunteers. There are about 50 plus of us now.

We have volunteers that come into the warehouse, but we also have volunteers who wrap boxes and collect stuff for us during the year. Then there’s men that come to fill the trucks and the people that come and fill the cartons with us.

There’s people who can’t come into the warehouse and they make wash bags, they knit dolls, hats, and scarves, so there’s lots of ways for people to volunteer.

Of course, we have the people that come into the warehouse. Then there’s about six of us that are the core team who work on it for most of the year.  

The army are fantastic to help us, as well as Jones Business Solution and Happy Times.

The Christmas Shoebox Appeal is your chosen charity. What drives you Ann to do this year after year?

My parents always brought us up that we should always help people. I believe that if everyone helped somebody else, we would have a lot less crime and the world would be a better place. If people are helping people, they are not idle and they're not going to be doing things they shouldn't be doing.

I feel that everyone should help somebody else, and I often feel that it is the people that have less, help the most. We are not rich people, but we give what we can. It's our duty to help others.

You must get some sense of gratification from helping especially when you visited Romania and met the kids that were receiving the shoeboxes?

There was but then you see such unimaginable poverty. And this is Europe. We are not just talking about third world countries. We are talking about Europe.

There shouldn't be this poverty anywhere and there should not be this poverty in Europe.

Our first distribution on that trip was to a dump with people living on a dump. And that was a good place compared to where we went next.

At the dump families were living in shacks and in corrugated areas that had them lined with mats and things. However, the children were able to run free and it was better than the next place we went, which were the Phantom apartments in Phantom Block.

It was the most unimaginable place that people could live in. They were living in a tiny little room that could have up to 11 people living in it. They had a single light bulb in them. A breeze block with wires across it was their heating and cooking. And you could imagine how dangerous that was.

They slept and lived in the single room. The corridors and stairs were in complete darkness. The stairs were dark, broken, and dangerous so the children couldn’t run free to play and there was no outdoor space for them.

There are female and male bathrooms that were like a trough area for washing themselves and getting the water.  You could feel despair in the Phantom Block.

Then we went around the corner and there were Christmas lights up and Christmas markets. Their neighbours are just like turning their back on them.

Then we went to another place called the Riverside Community. These people had a river on one side of them and an open railway track on the other side. Can you imagine how dangerous that is and how many children have lost their lives there?

When we arrived, they were slaughtering a pig which was going to be their meat for the winter. It was freezing cold but there were kids running around with just T-shirts on them.

All the kids were so excited as the shoeboxes might be the only present that they will receive in their life.

Volunteer Amilton Ruck received a shoe box gift at the age of 13 in Mozambique

Some of these children who have received shoe boxes have come to Ireland and are now voluntering for Team Hope.

Yes, we’ve had Lily from Romania come to help us. They are so grateful and tell us what’s important to these children. We’ve seen children sniffing the soap or going off to brush their teeth straightaway and there’s nothing like a hug from a teddy bear.

Amilton Ruck from Mozambique in Africa received a box when he was 13 years old. He has been living in Kilkenny five years and he is fantastic helping us pack every single box in that lorry.

It’s always packed to the brim and as Amilton says, ‘another 20 boxes, means another 20 kids, who might not ever get another present again.”

So please it's really important that people denote good stuff and start to pick up things in the sales for us for next year. Every box makes such a difference. The most important things are the copy books, the soap, the toothbrush, toothpaste, and jelly sweets. We are not funded so we need all the help that we can get.

After 28 years is there any letting up for Anne Kealy?

Well, my granddaughter Harper told me that I can't retire until she's old enough to do it! Rita’s daughter Kate is going to take over from her too.

If you wish to help this Christmas, please denote to www.teamhope.ie/donate