SOS Santa Claus

Name of the activity: SOS Santa Claus

Country/NMO: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MMSA)

Program: Ethics & Human Rights in Health

Type of the activity: Campaign. Combination of education and advocacy. Campaigns create awareness in society about a certain topic (education aspect) and try to funnel this awareness into pressure on the decision makers to adapt policies accordingly (advocacy aspect).

General description:

This project has complete humanitarian character. We search for homes and daily centers where orphans and people with disability lives or go to school. We contact them and arrange a meeting before New Year that we can go and enjoy our time together. Then we arrange with markets which days we can be there and at what time concrete. Our volunteers go to different market and explain the project to the customers and ask them to buy some product for creating the amazing Christmas gift box. We mainly suggest for snack, chocolate, juice or toy. We collect all the donated product and after that we make packages, which are donated (by a student wearing a Santa Clause costume) to children in the orphanages, hospitalized children and children with disabilities.

Focus area:

Peace, peacebuilding and health

Problem statement:

The problem is that the target groups for which gift boxes are dedicated to, are usually forgotten by the society, even though they get some help from the government and NGOs they still lack happiness and positivism. So we offer them some fun time, free hugs and smiles. Another problem is that they are not too much socialized since they might have some difficulties with communication, and we are patient enough for talking and explaining our lifestyle.

Target groups:

Children, Youth, People with disabilities, Incarcerated individuals

Beneficiaries:

Medical students, Doctors, Children, Youth, People with disabilities, Incarcerated individuals

Objectives and indicators of success:

-Getting smiles on children faces, to warm their hearts and to make them feel the New Year’s spirit; -If our volunteers are kind and polite, we get in touch with their life, we play some games and for a few hours they forget about reality.

-To include all the citizens in the city into the project and raise awareness about the need of solidarity; -Indicator of success is the logistic part, if our pult is on crowded markets and at a time that all people do the shopping (after works, od Sundays).

-To make all children fell equal and happy, even though they lack health or relatives. -At the time that we deliver out gift boxes we do some singing games and everything that children enjoy.

Methodology:

First of all we arrange the needed equipment, in which is included: pults, posters, flyers, bags, ribbons etc. After that we set up the time and place for collecting the products, in a few markets with 6 to 7 hours, that allow us to be there. Then we find volunteers and explain their job and the attitude towards the customers. After that we find vehicle that can transport all products to some spacious room. The volunteers arrange a time that suits everybody to come and make the Christmas gift boxes ready for delivery.

At the end we buy a Santa Clause suit, and we go to previously arranged places where orphans live, and where people with disabilities live. Plus we ask how many children are in the clinics (hospitalized) and we see them too. According to the childrens’ age, the program is made.

Plans for evaluation:

The monitoring is simple, one of our NMO member stands with the volunteers helps them if they come to a conflict and monitors in which hours and which days most products are collected.

After that when we deliver the gift boxes, we see if some of the homes receive more gift boxes so the next year we can avoid them, and find some other homes that really need our help.

Plus we evaluate the behavior and attitude of each volunteer, so we can strictly know the profile of participant needed.

Since it is completely humanitarian project, we just evaluate the things that can be improved by us, so we can be more efficient and effective.