With the help of the “Wish Tree”, children living in financially difficult circumstances can have a Christmas gift wish fulfilled. The trees are placed around several places in the country before Christmas. In Porsgrunn, preliminary figures show an increase of 25 per cent in the number of requests for the trees there, compared to last year. There are well over 300 more wishes, says Siri Løite of the Porsgrunn Red Cross. They fear a further increase, to somewhere between 40 and 50 percent. – The increase is so big and we are dependent on donations. This year we are very afraid of not being able to help all the children who are registered with us, says Løite. Feeling powerless. She works as a volunteer and has been leader of the Wishing Tree in Porsgrunn for the past two years. Løite thinks it is painful to see what the wishes are about. A child wants a warm jacket or winter shoes. Others want the very simple toys, such as a deck of cards or drawing materials. – It does something to you. There are many touching things we see they want. WISHING TREES: Every year, the wishing trees are placed in different places in parts of Norway. Photo: Bettina Olie Bjerkholdt / news Line Mikaelsen-Høiback told news earlier this week that during her 16 years in the Porsgrunn Red Cross, she had never experienced more requests for pure humanitarian aid. – We feel a deep sense of powerlessness in the face of these families. We collaborate with the municipality and Nav in the wish tree to reach those who need it most. And all our Red Cross activities are free, but sometimes it still feels as if we don’t contribute enough. Løite agrees with this. They are there to help, but this year she thinks it will be tough. – We have managed it with a narrow margin in recent years. But this year I fear we won’t be able to get through. Social assistance Grunde Grimsrud is head of Nav Porsgrunn, and he says that so far this year they have had a 20 per cent increase in applicants for social assistance. Grunde Grimsrud is head of Nav Porsgrunn. Photo: NAV Vestfold and Telemark – We are very excited about winter. Many people may have a buffer that lasts one, two or three months. But what happens when that buffer is used up? That is what is worrying. He believes that applying for financial aid can be an attitudinal threshold. A border many do not want to cross. – It is a temporary benefit to help people through a difficult period. Nav’s latest survey showed that 416 households received social assistance in Porsgrunn. Some receive support for subsistence, where the support pays for food, electricity and housing. And then there is supplementary help, says Grimsrud. Which can be help with the individual dental or electricity bill. – Before Christmas, we are also there to help those who need it with Christmas presents, because there are no children going into Christmas and the parents should not have the opportunity to give the children a Christmas present. Extraordinary needs The Red Cross has no national figures on how many wishes come in via the Wishing Tree project. But Ingvill Asliøy-Gjerløw says that this year they see absolutely extraordinary needs. She is unit manager for humanitarian programs in the Norwegian Red Cross. Ingvill Alisøy-Gjersløw is unit manager for humanitarian programs at the Red Cross. Photo: Randi Nørstebø She goes on to say that many people contact the Red Cross in their local communities, also about very basic humanitarian needs. – Where we have wish trees, we see that there is a large demand and a significant increase from previous years.
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The Red Cross in Porsgrunn feels powerless – afraid they cannot help everyone – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
