On Thursday, December 12, we delivered gifts from the Wishing Tree to the St. Klement Hofbauer Children's Home in Podolínec and to the Center for Children and Families Košice - Uralská. Many thanks to all the donors who brought great joy to the children. And it was not only associated with gifts. It was a special day for the children, full of anticipation and a little bit of tension, because they prepared a Christmas program for us.

The first stop where we could please the children was Podolínec near Stará Ľubovňa. We received a warm welcome from the director Štefan Straka and his deputy Danka Štefková. Both young and old were nicely dressed, there was no doubt that this visit was special for them. The children in folk costumes were already standing in front of the dining room and in their eyes you could see a little nervousness but also pure joy at being able to show us what they had prepared for us. Director Štefan Straka's speech about what Christmas means to him captured the hearts of not only the young and the young at heart, but also adults. The children reminded us of the roots of our ancestors through traditional Christmas carols, songs and greetings. The educators Monika and Stanka did a fantastic job with them. I must admit that even a tear rolled down my cheek...

The gifts were presented to the children on behalf of the management of U. S. Steel Košice by Allison Revello and the wives of our vice presidents Mária Kiraľvargová and Viera Novosadová. Mária Kiraľvargová thanked them for the wonderful program with the words: "We have counted how long we have been working with you. It has been an incredible eighteen years. We always like to come back here. For me, Christmas begins when we come to you."

The joy from the gifts was overwhelming and sincere. Valentina's broad smile said it all. The wooden kitchen was exactly what she had been longing for. The children in the home take turns serving in the kitchen, where they help prepare meals. Valentina always looks forward to her service. So now we know why she chose the kitchen...

Everything related to music is popular among teenagers. Simonka was pleased with the speaker and Karin with headphones, from which they will listen mainly to Romani songs. Jaro immediately put on white headphones, looking like a superstar with them. He revealed that he will most often listen to rap in them. Paťa wanted a guitar. She has already had the opportunity to try playing the guitar and she was doing well. Who knows, maybe next year she will be able to play guitar music by the Christmas tree. Kevin wanted a cajon - it seems that this drum box will be a great success, the boys tried it out one after another.

Seven-year-old Sára likes to entertain the audience and the new microphone and speaker will serve her perfectly for this. With a happy smile and a microphone in her hand, she entertained us too.

Kvetka was pleased with the cosmetic case. Rozália got a hair straightener and Melánia got a curling iron. In their free time, they do their hair with the girls. But not only girls care about their appearance. Fourteen-year-old Samuel is a well-known barber here at home, and his brother Kristián is learning from him. The new professional clippers made the boys happy and they immediately tried out their blades.

What would you say about a soccer ball and goalkeeper gloves instead of a game console? The  last-minute gift that Sebastián chose instead of a sold-out console made him immensely happy. "Professional goalkeeper gloves? They're perfectly reinforced." he smiled in surprise.

Thirteen-year-old Marián attends the Elementary School of Art. He draws beautifully and did not hide his joy from the easel and painting supplies. The donor sent him a message that once he will become a famous painter, he'll appreciate one of his paintings. Marián decided there's no reason to wait that long and ran to his room to get his drawing and a few Christmas cards that he had painted. We will deliver them to the donor, he can count on that.

We also have the lovely duty of delivering beautiful angels to all those who purchased gifts. They were made by the children with their educators as an expression of gratitude.

The humble, festive atmosphere was also enhanced by the premises of the orphanage itself, which is located in the grounds of the Redemptorist monastery.  Štefan Straka invited Allison Revello to tour the adjacent church. It is dominated by the largest altarpiece in Central Europe, more than 10 meters high.

“We adapt life in the orphanage to the kind of children we have here. Whether they are more artistic or more athletic. At the moment, we live by football. The staff does not fluctuate here, we are a stable team. People here do the job that they love. Even beyond their duties, from the heart. And that's good," Štefan Straka praised not only young athletes, who this year became the champions of Slovakia in football of the Centers for Children and Families, but also the staff who give them a piece of themselves.

"Thank you for thinking of us this year too. We have experienced a lot during the years of cooperation," said Danka Štefková, reminiscing about our common experiences while looking at the photos.

In the afternoon, we moved back to Košice, to the Center for Children and Families Košice - Uralská. Here we were no less warmly welcomed by the director of the center, Jana Funderáková, and of course, many pairs of children's eyes, shining with anticipation and joy. The children from the families Bociany, Lienky and Slnečnice provided a nice program at the Christmas tree. There were also professional parents in the audience.

“Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your Christmas,” Viera Novosadová addressed the children and families. And the nicely wrapped packages went into the children’s hands.

Damiánka’s gift was really heavy, and when she received it, she amused everyone by exclaiming: “I can’t do it!”.

Three-year-old Julko was so overwhelmed by the package that he held his head, as if what he was seeing was impossible.

For a moment, it seemed that the gift for ten-year-old Mário was overshadowed by the chocolate: “I knew I would get such a big chocolate. I want it!”. After a while, however, a loud voice was heard: “I love the train, that’s exactly what I wanted! I’ll be the train driver!”.

Emil, Marcelka, Jožko and Riško were delighted with the game consoles. They immediately turned them on skillfully. We laughed that they were bigger than themselves.

Barborka is six years old and proudly showed off her new scooter. “Isn’t it pretty? Look, it’s black and white! That one was going wrong for me, it went into the trash.” And she was riding the new one right away. Scooters are definitely experiencing a “boom” here. Erika, who recited beautifully to us, was also happy to have one. And besides her and Barborka, seven other children.

In the Lienky group, fifteen-year-old Vaneska played Silent Night for us on the organ. Since she is an artistic soul, she was delighted with the creative art set.

The trio Tobias, Milan and Daniel sang and played guitars for us, it was a real experience.

Jana Funderáková: “Thank you for visiting us again this year. When we see from time to time on Facebook what Christmas the children who grew up with us have prepared for their families, we know that it is also thanks to you showing them.”

Slávka Tvrdoňová has been involved in the Wishing Tree project since its inception: “I appreciate that the Wishing Tree has been “alive” for such a long time. You can see the passion of our employees when they give gifts to children in orphanages every year. We have already given gifts for the nineteenth time and when they are delivered, we see that it makes sense.”

As Mária Kiraľvargová pointed out in one of the discussions, these visits are not only enriching for the children, but also for us. It is mutual. Thank you.

Photo gallery: Ján Kisucký