A nice Christmas touch for kids in Split.
Angels Association and the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service have once again showed that little things can bring great smiles to children’s faces. Dressed in Santa Claus uniforms, they descended with sleighs, and with gifts in their hands, from the ramparts at the Gaje Bulata Square in front of the Croatian National Theatre in Split. This is a traditional event which brings joy to children with physical and developmental disabilities and their parents during the holiday season, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on December 23, 2015.
About 350 toys for all the gathered children were distributed in an instant, and the entire event was accompanied by appropriate holiday music. “Many of the children of our members used to spent most of their lives within their homes. With public events like this we want to bring them the holiday spirit in a special way, but also to enable them to socialize with other peers. After all, even we adults love the gifts which Father Christmas brings”, said Anka Đikić from the Angels Association.
Since the premises of the Association have been next to the Split branch of Croatian Mountain Rescue Service for many years, the decision to join forces came naturally. Although their partnership is alive during the whole year, the pre-Christmas event brings the most joy to everybody. “It has been nine years ago that we decided to join forces in order to honour these parents and their children during the holiday season. And since in our business we sometimes have to descend from the heights, just like Santa Claus, it seemed appropriate to make them happy precisely in this way”, explained Petronije Tasić, one of the members of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service.
President of the Angels Association Dijana Aničić said that all citizens are invited to attend the festivities with their children, but the emphasis is always on children whose parents are members of the Association. “This event is designed and adapted especially for children with disabilities, but we always say that everybody is welcome to share the holiday spirit and exchange gifts”, Aničić added.
