THEY may be hundreds of miles away but the smiles on faces of Romanian children is all down to the generosity of South Cumbrians.

Boxes of Hope have have arrived in Romania to help children and families this Christmas.

More than 3,000 boxes filled with gifts arrived safely in late November and now the team have been handing them out to grateful youngsters.

To help distribute the Christmas gifts, the Boxes of Hope team flew to the country and began giving the boxes to children on Tuesday.

The Mail: Boxes of Hope Cumbria team in Romania.Boxes of Hope Cumbria team in Romania. (Image: Boxes of Hope)

The team, who are on the self-funded trip, has visited Satu Mare, Northwest of Oradea, including schools, a church group and open communities around the area. 

The Mail: Volunteer giving a gift to a child at Tinca School in Oradea. Volunteer giving a gift to a child at Tinca School in Oradea. (Image: Boxes of Hope)

A post on their Facebook page said: "And so today we were finally back at Tinca School. Never fails to inspire the team with all that Daniela, the amazing principle, and her team have achieved here. We enjoyed an amazing local savoury pancake lunch after giving the children their boxes."

The Mail:

The children that benefit from the campaign will be given goodies such as balls, skipping ropes, educational and hygiene items, woolly hats and gloves.

These children often live in wooden huts and lack basic essentials such as heating and running water. Some of them are living in a rubbish tip.

The successful 2022 campaign marks 10 years of bringing gifts to children in Romania.

The Mail:

To follow their progress through the week follow their page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoxesOfHopeCumbria