A truck loaded with huge boxes full of gifts brought great joy to two addresses yesterday. The dream Christmas gifts, which were bought by the steelworkers in the Tree of Wishes project, filled children's hearts with great anticipation, impatience and then happiness. There were wide smiles, when unwrapping presents, it roared like in a beehive. The children showed each other what they had received.  They were looking forward to it as sincerely as only children know. Some even needed a lot of physical effort, especially the little girls who found the coveted wooden children's kitchens under the tree. They were really heavy.

Our first stop was the Children's Home in Podolínec. We came to them as old friends, because we met for the first time 20 years ago. The welcome was very cordial. The children prepared a wonderful program consisting of carols and Christmas songs. They rehearsed it intensively for a whole month.

The wife of the acting president, Allison Revello,  addressed the children: "It was a beautiful performance. There is definitely a lot of work and a lot of practice behind it. Thank you, children, for your beautiful smiles and for creating a magical Christmas atmosphere for us."

Allison and the vice president's wife, Mária Kiraľvargová, handed out gifts to the children.  All wishes were fulfilled. And so, after unpacking, they enjoyed toys, clothes, cosmetics...  The children of this home have a great role model in their principal, who is very skilled manually and does many things himself.  Therefore, some children chose, for example, a chainsaw or a tractor that Janko received as a gift. When the tractor was already assembled, Janko smiled happily and said: "Mr. Director, now I will help you with everything!"

Two of the performers were also pleased with the gift. Melania, who sang and recited beautifully (in the cover photo), relates: "Thank you very much to everyone who was willing to buy us gifts."  Edko introduced himself as an excellent pianist: "I have been playing the piano since I was 6 years old. I got a football goal under the tree, because I also like football. Thank you very much for this gift."

In addition to gifts, the children also received chocolates, which were distributed to them by the administrator USSK Foundation and the manager of the Wishing Tree project, Slávka Tvrdoňová. Although there is a lot of work to be done with this project, Slávka told us that it is one of her favorites. At the same time, she also handed over two bicycles to the children, which we brought to the home from Robo Meitner.

The director of the home, Štefan Straka: "It's a great project. For children, this moment reminds them of family at least a little.  When they receive a gift from strangers, they also receive a piece of their heart. In fact, you are no longer unknown to us. You are already ours. Greetings to everyone in your company. We love you."

The meeting also began with a nice program in CDR Uralská, Košice.  And not just one. In the central premises, children from foster families met, who prepared their own program, and then we gradually visited all the children in their rooms. None of them lacked a decorated tree, with gifts underneath. In each of them, they welcomed us with a song, a carol or playing the guitar.

Among the gifts, branded sweatpants, tracksuits, jackets and boots played a leading role.  Smaller girls were happy with school bags.

For many years, one of the faces of the Tree of Wishes project has been Mária Kiraľvargová, who regularly visits children's homes with us: "I am always touched by these visits. There is a beautiful atmosphere, joy. For me, the Christmas season begins when I come to homes."

For Allison, this was her second experience of giving gifts not only for herself, but also for all the employees who bought the gifts for the children: "My heart always fills with joy when I see how happy the children are, how they smile...."

The director of CDR , Jana Funderáková , also had gifts for us. We received beautiful, ceramic angels: "The children are very happy. Especially the smaller ones, teenagers don't show it that way, but they are also looking forward to it.  We thank everyone who bought gifts for the children from the bottom of our hearts.  The feeling that children have, that they have not been forgotten, that someone has thought of them as well, is amazing."

Photo: Ján Kisucký