INDIA HICKS

View Original

CHRISTMAS EVE

By Christmas Eve we were back in Abaco. 3 of my kids came with me. We were shocked to see parts of the island still looking apocalyptic, there was not a tourist in sight and many buildings reminded decimated.

100 children were waiting patiently for us. They had been told they were receiving a gift but in their wildest dreams they could not have imagined a computer, packaged with full IT support and the ever important WiFi hot spot. These kids would now access on-line learning for the first time.

‘Think beyond Lego and Barbie dolls’ Michael Capponi, founder of Global Empowerment Mission, had said when we began talking about gifts for the kids – they’d lost nearly everything in the hurricane and now their parents had lost even more living through this pandemic.

There are several hundred other kids also desperate to get back into education. We now need to help them. We can’t stop just because Christmas is over.