AIBU to ask you to watch this video about Operation Christmas Child?

[exexpat]

Operation Christmas Child touches Nepal

We are approaching the final week of this year's Operation Christmas Child programme, which asks people to donate shoeboxes full of gifts for a needy child overseas. Many schools promote it as a nice way for all children, whatever their religion or lack of it, to do something for others at Christmas.

What schools often do not tell parents (because they do not realise themselves) is that Operation Christmas Child is a highly evangelical programme, run by American fundamentalists, which uses shoeboxes as a way to lure small children into the church.

However, the video above - from the website of the OCC parent organisation, Samaritan's Purse - makes it abundantly clear exactly what they are doing, and what they think of other religions (Hinduism = darkness from which children must be saved by missionaries bearing shoeboxes).

Parents may also be interested to hear that Samaritan's Purse is run by Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham; he is best buddies with George Bush and Sarah Palin, describes Islam as evil, diverts the 'international relief' charity's funds to support the campaign against same-sex marriage in the US, promotes abstinence-only sex education in areas with a high HIV rate, and lots of other unsavoury things.

If your school promotes Operation Christmas Child, and they have not told you about the evangelical nature of the programme, please suggest the head teacher watches that video clip and has a good look round the Samaritan's Purse website.

(My apologies for yet another Operation Christmas Child thread, but this is the first one I have ever started, because I think that video deserves a wider audience)

[NewtRipley]

Wow

Thanks for this exexpat. How extraordinarily unsubtle that video is!

OCC was withdrawn as an idea from our school after parental objections last year. This makes it crystal clear why that was the right decision

[exexpat]

Not sure why you can't find it, Billy - are you copying and pasting the charity number, or searching by name?

For some reason when I try to grab the link to the page with Samaritan's Purse's details, it just comes up with the search page, but here is a summary of last year's return by Samaritan's Purse.

[exexpat]

(and if you search by name, you have to get the apostrophe in the right place, otherwise it doesn't work)

[SuburbanRhonda]

So pleased this thread is on here.

Despite the coverage resulting from the last two OCC threads, it's great to have a thread dedicated to providing information to enable people to make a decision whether or not to support OCC, based on facts.

Sadly, my DCs old primary is still doing it, but I'm emailing the video to a friend who works there. Fingers crossed!

[BillyBanter]

Can't find it using anything or combination, or apostrophe position but thanks for the link.

[SuburbanRhonda]

Bump

[Twunk]

Thank you I have shared this. In the first 10 seconds I was , by halfway through I was .

Cynical. Manipulative. Awful.

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

I have helped them spread the love on facebook

[OutragedFromLeeds]

If anyone knows about Mustard Seed Relief Missions I'd be grateful? Their website seems ok, but they don't really say much about their 'policies'...

They operate in Ukraine and Moldova, which are predominantly Christian anyway I think?

I'm very ill informed.

[Bluestocking]

Many thanks for starting a new thread specifically highlighting that video, Exexpat. Do you think there's any danger of the US SP taking it off their website? Do we need it saved to Youtube for posterity?

[SuburbanRhonda]

Isn't it already on YouTube?

That's where I watched it.

[BillyBanter]

outraged, you can't expect to be informed on every charity ever, even if you work for the charity commission...

[OutragedFromLeeds]

No I know. I was just wondering if anyone knew. They're UK based so there's a chance someone here might know/be involved and Mumsnet knows everything .

Sorry, I didn't mean to derail the thread.

[exexpat]

Euphemia - from what I have read about the Rotary Club scheme, it is much better than OCC. Rotary Club itself is secular; their boxes are distributed through overseas partners, some of which are church-based, but they do say that there is no evangelism, and they have some details about their distributors on the website. Certainly no sign of an organised evangelical campaign.

[Donkeyok]

I feel awful that we have done this for the last few years

I hate to feel we've done harm

[exexpat]

Outraged - I think someone has mentioned mustard seed on another OCC thread - was it you? From the website, they look pretty small-scale - Christian, but no mention of sending bibles or anything with the boxes. You could email and ask them?

[avacat]

Bump

[BillyBanter]

donkeyuk. don't feel bad. If it is arranged through a school perhaps let them know about OCC's agenda and suggest another charity they could promote/raise for at christmas.

[SauceForTheGander]

outraged our school have suggested them as a charity after I complained about OCC. I'm going to do some digging.

The issue for me is that the anti gay, right wing links in the USA. There are so many non partisan charities committed to equality and acceptance, you don't need to support one with dubious motivations.

[SuburbanRhonda]

donkey, I don't think anyone could have bee expected to know about OCC's motives and methodology unless they had a particular reason to research it.

Most of us got involved with OCC through our DC's schools - we would have trusted the school not to get us involved with anything underhand. And they in turn schools were not told by OCC that the shoeboxes are used as a tool for evangelising.

[Donkeyok]

Yes it was through a school.

We don't attend it any more and the new one doesn't do it.

I always thought they didn't collect enough boxes and that people were being mean.

They even organised a disco for the kids who contributed from the local schools. We could never go on those days but it now all seems quite horrible.

[saintmerryweather]

the thing about saying that children dont have to take religious literature is that some of these children are as young as 4. how on earth would they manage to refuse what theyre being given when it comes with a present?

[SuburbanRhonda]

saint, I agree, and the SP representative who came on here described the shoe-box giving event as being one of noise and excitement - who would feel able to refuse anything offered to them under those pressured conditions?

[Coupon]

An interesting contrast is the Christian Aid info and video here