Easter present for ukrainian children

Five families, mostly consisting of orphans or foster children and their foster parents, are finding a new home in idyllic Appenzell. They arrived about a fortnight ago after a long bus ride and are now being looked after by Mette Heller and her team.

Franziska Ospelt, managing owner of the bag manufacturer "FrancisFrancis" from Liechtenstein gave these children a big surprise before Easter and presented each of them with a "Kids Bag" from the in-house children's collection. These bags are made of sturdy cardboard and can be decorated and painted by the children themselves. Together with Magdalena Frommelt from SOS Children's Village Liechtenstein, Franziska Ospelt handed over the bags to the girls and boys last Wednesday.

Full of eagerness and joy, the children started to embellish the bags. "It was important to me to bring joy to these children, they have been through so much. Each bag becomes unique - just like every child in this world," says the committed entrepreneur, who has been producing the creative bags in Liechtenstein since 2012 and selling them all over the world.

The Managing Director of SOS Children's Village, Magdalena Frommelt, is also pleased that the boys and girls are offered something different. "They can use every nice activity. Many of them are very worried about their relatives at home and have experienced a lot of trauma," Frommelt knows. "The families come from Mariupol, Poltava or Kiev. The family from Poltava, for example, had to leave the mother behind with the disabled son because he is 18 years old and was therefore not allowed to leave."

Easter is also a special time in Ukraine and a celebration of family. Therefore, such gestures have a special meaning for these children.