Children from the Erne School in Enniskillen have been busy recently filling shoe boxes.

The kids have taken part in this year's Christmas Shoe Box Appeal, which is organised by Blythswood Care, and the filled shoe boxes will now be delivered to those in need in Eastern Europe.

The collection was co-ordinated by teacher Claire Gibson and Hilary Cusack, a classroom assistant, and, thanks to the great work of the kids, 165 shoe boxes were filled.

Since about mid-September all the children in the school were asked to bring in items which were suitable for the shoe box appeal and then the pupils of Class 9G filled the items into the shoe boxes ready for collection.

These filled shoe boxes were handed over to Malcolm Sloan who collected them on behalf of Blythswood Christian Centre in Ballyclare, which is the collection point for all the shoe boxes filled throughout Northern Ireland.

The boxes will now be distributed to the needy in the Republic of Moldova and Romania in time for Christmas.

The principle behind the shoe box appeal is simple: all that is asked is that people fill up the shoe box with simple toiletries, new clothes (socks, hat, gloves etc.) or some other basic items.

No food, other than sweets, is allowed and anyone who fills a shoe box is asked to use a checklist to tell those organising the appeal exactly what they have included in their shoe box.

The first thing the kids, or anyone who is interested in filling a shoe box, must do is decide who the shoe box is for - a child, a teenager or an adult. Then, they should fill the box with only items on the recommended list and then stick this list onto the box.

The kids then wrapped the shoe box (in Christmas paper for this appeal) and then local businessman, Malcolm Sloan called to the school to collect the filled shoe boxes, and arranged for them to be taken to Blysthswood Centre in Ballyclare.

Here, the boxes will be checked, a Bible storybook (kids) or a Bible calendar (adults) will be added and then they will be delivered to someone, in Eastern Europe, in time for Christmas.

Malcolm Sloan explains that he has been involved with the Shoe Box Appeal for close on 10 years, and he reported that a lot of local schools have got involved over the years, in particular, the Erne School which had been very supportive of the Appeal over the past few years.