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CNN Live Today
'Operation Christmas Child'
Aired December 24, 2003 - 10:37 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: With Christmas just hours away, millions of children around the world will not be getting a visit from Santa, but one charity is on a mission to change that. The group, Samaritan's Purse, recently distributed 60,000 shoebox gifts to needy children in Sudan as part of its "Operation Christmas Child."
Joining us to tell us more about the mission is the president of the organization, the Reverend Franklin Graham, in Boone, North Carolina, and James Loom, a former recipient of one of those shoeboxes, joining us live from Raleigh, North Carolina.
Happy holidays to both of you.
JAMES LOOM, FMR. SUDANESE ORPHAN: Thank you. Happy holidays.
REV. FRANKLIN GRAHAM, PRESIDENT, SAMARITAN'S PURSE: Merry Christmas.
LOOM: Reverend Graham, let me begin with you. You've got 60,000 shoebox gifts that are going to Sudan, but in all, something like seven million shoebox gifts that are going to over 100 countries, many of the kids in those countries who would not see any kind of gifts.
How has this program evolved?
GRAHAM: It started back about 10 years ago with 11,000 people giving gifts, and this year over 7 million. We ask everybody who packs a box, put toys in it, for a child, put candy, put pencils, school supplies, but put your name in there, and to pray for that box. We want every box that goes on have a prayer with it, that the child that that box finds, that God would bless that child, and that child will come to know God and God's plan for their life.
WHITFIELD: Are you finding that this year, people are particularly charitable?
GRAHAM: Absolutely. I just got back from the Sudan, where I had a chance to meet with the president of that country a man that i've been consider critical of. This country has had a horrible civil war that has taken the lives of millions of people. But while I met with him I shared with him really what we were wanting to do with the shoeboxes. He accepted that. He agreed. And as we talked, he said, and I wished I had a chance to convert you to Islam. And I laughed, and I said, I'd love to give you that opportunity.
And we talked. And we talked about the problems in that country, and that the churches where wanting freedom. They're about to sign a peace accord which we were very grateful for. President Bush is really responsible for bringing peace to this part of the world, and we need to pray for the Sudan, and pray for that nation as they come together now for the first time in over 20 years to sign a peace accord.
WHITFIELD: And in this latest trip that you made there, did you have an opportunity to talk to a number of the kids that would end up being recipients of the shoeboxes?
GRAHAM: A lot of children. I went to the hospital in North Khartoum, a pediatric hospital, we gave out shoeboxes, had a chance to talk to the parents.
We found a couple of children that need open heart surgery, and we're going to be bringing those kids back to this country for that surgery in the next few weeks. We're going to put an intensive care unit at this pediatric hospital in North Khartoum. There is a lot of need in that country. They need our prayers.
And of course, as we get come to Christmas, we're celebrating God's love. The bible said God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten the son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. And as we come to Christmas, this is what it's all about, God's love for us.
WHITFIELD: Well, James Loom in Raleigh also received some of that love in the form of shoeboxes and other gifts years ago. You were eight when you fled your Sudanese village and eventually made your way to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. When you received your shoebox, James, what was in it?
LOOM: I actually received so many things that really made a difference in my life.
WHITFIELD: In what way?
LOOM: I found love, and I remembered that there are people -- even though I'm suffering in the camp, I realized that people were just behind trying to help me with...
WHITFIELD: And at the time when you were a child and you received that gift, describe for me some of the feelings of loss that you had at the time, that perhaps nobody even knew about you, and some 38,000 other kids who were in the refugee camps, and how these shoeboxes sort of gave you some incentive, or real hope, that people did care.
LOOM: It's a long story anyway. I think you might have heard about the lost boys in Sudan. It's just a civil war that has broken the whole country, and it has (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the highest population. And I'm one of the lost boys who came to this country.
But when I was in the camp, first of all, to receive a shoebox and see all of the items which were contained in that shoebox. I saw pencils, and candy, and socks and shoes. After so many years of being independent of myself, trying to struggle for life with several other groups. We felt really like we had been loved and remembered by our family here in America.
WHITFIELD: And, James, now you are, correct me if I'm wrong, a college sophomore, and you've benefited from many opportunities that evolved from this Operation Christmas Child. How are you helping to reach out to perhaps some of the other children who have not been as fortunate as you over the years now?
LOOM: Our goal is to thank God that he brought us to this country so that we can practice our faith, but also to remember so many other children who have remained behind in the camp and in Sudan. And what we do actually, we are trying to come together, Franklin Graham and the Sudan mission in Charlotte, North Carolina, we are trying to come together to see how God is going to use us as his hands to be able to reach out to those kids.
WHITFIELD: All right. Already, you all are affecting so many and helping to inspire so many children who have been in need for so long, in not just the Sudan, but around the world.
James Loom in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Franklin Graham in Boone, North Carolina. Thank you both for joining us and best holiday wishes.
GRAHAM: Merry Christmas.
LOOM: Merry Christmas. Thank you and God bless you, and if you want to get some information also on the lost boys, you can call at Steel Creek (ph) 704-525-1133, or you can all up Franklin Graham in Boone, and you will get in touch with us. We'll come to your church, or anywhere you want us to come to and share our faith and struggle.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much, James. I really appreciate it.
LOOM: Thank you so much.
WHITFIELD: Happy holidays to all of you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 24, 2003 - 10:37 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: With Christmas just hours away, millions of children around the world will not be getting a visit from Santa, but one charity is on a mission to change that. The group, Samaritan's Purse, recently distributed 60,000 shoebox gifts to needy children in Sudan as part of its "Operation Christmas Child."
Joining us to tell us more about the mission is the president of the organization, the Reverend Franklin Graham, in Boone, North Carolina, and James Loom, a former recipient of one of those shoeboxes, joining us live from Raleigh, North Carolina.
Happy holidays to both of you.
JAMES LOOM, FMR. SUDANESE ORPHAN: Thank you. Happy holidays.
REV. FRANKLIN GRAHAM, PRESIDENT, SAMARITAN'S PURSE: Merry Christmas.
LOOM: Reverend Graham, let me begin with you. You've got 60,000 shoebox gifts that are going to Sudan, but in all, something like seven million shoebox gifts that are going to over 100 countries, many of the kids in those countries who would not see any kind of gifts.
How has this program evolved?
GRAHAM: It started back about 10 years ago with 11,000 people giving gifts, and this year over 7 million. We ask everybody who packs a box, put toys in it, for a child, put candy, put pencils, school supplies, but put your name in there, and to pray for that box. We want every box that goes on have a prayer with it, that the child that that box finds, that God would bless that child, and that child will come to know God and God's plan for their life.
WHITFIELD: Are you finding that this year, people are particularly charitable?
GRAHAM: Absolutely. I just got back from the Sudan, where I had a chance to meet with the president of that country a man that i've been consider critical of. This country has had a horrible civil war that has taken the lives of millions of people. But while I met with him I shared with him really what we were wanting to do with the shoeboxes. He accepted that. He agreed. And as we talked, he said, and I wished I had a chance to convert you to Islam. And I laughed, and I said, I'd love to give you that opportunity.
And we talked. And we talked about the problems in that country, and that the churches where wanting freedom. They're about to sign a peace accord which we were very grateful for. President Bush is really responsible for bringing peace to this part of the world, and we need to pray for the Sudan, and pray for that nation as they come together now for the first time in over 20 years to sign a peace accord.
WHITFIELD: And in this latest trip that you made there, did you have an opportunity to talk to a number of the kids that would end up being recipients of the shoeboxes?
GRAHAM: A lot of children. I went to the hospital in North Khartoum, a pediatric hospital, we gave out shoeboxes, had a chance to talk to the parents.
We found a couple of children that need open heart surgery, and we're going to be bringing those kids back to this country for that surgery in the next few weeks. We're going to put an intensive care unit at this pediatric hospital in North Khartoum. There is a lot of need in that country. They need our prayers.
And of course, as we get come to Christmas, we're celebrating God's love. The bible said God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten the son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. And as we come to Christmas, this is what it's all about, God's love for us.
WHITFIELD: Well, James Loom in Raleigh also received some of that love in the form of shoeboxes and other gifts years ago. You were eight when you fled your Sudanese village and eventually made your way to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. When you received your shoebox, James, what was in it?
LOOM: I actually received so many things that really made a difference in my life.
WHITFIELD: In what way?
LOOM: I found love, and I remembered that there are people -- even though I'm suffering in the camp, I realized that people were just behind trying to help me with...
WHITFIELD: And at the time when you were a child and you received that gift, describe for me some of the feelings of loss that you had at the time, that perhaps nobody even knew about you, and some 38,000 other kids who were in the refugee camps, and how these shoeboxes sort of gave you some incentive, or real hope, that people did care.
LOOM: It's a long story anyway. I think you might have heard about the lost boys in Sudan. It's just a civil war that has broken the whole country, and it has (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the highest population. And I'm one of the lost boys who came to this country.
But when I was in the camp, first of all, to receive a shoebox and see all of the items which were contained in that shoebox. I saw pencils, and candy, and socks and shoes. After so many years of being independent of myself, trying to struggle for life with several other groups. We felt really like we had been loved and remembered by our family here in America.
WHITFIELD: And, James, now you are, correct me if I'm wrong, a college sophomore, and you've benefited from many opportunities that evolved from this Operation Christmas Child. How are you helping to reach out to perhaps some of the other children who have not been as fortunate as you over the years now?
LOOM: Our goal is to thank God that he brought us to this country so that we can practice our faith, but also to remember so many other children who have remained behind in the camp and in Sudan. And what we do actually, we are trying to come together, Franklin Graham and the Sudan mission in Charlotte, North Carolina, we are trying to come together to see how God is going to use us as his hands to be able to reach out to those kids.
WHITFIELD: All right. Already, you all are affecting so many and helping to inspire so many children who have been in need for so long, in not just the Sudan, but around the world.
James Loom in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Franklin Graham in Boone, North Carolina. Thank you both for joining us and best holiday wishes.
GRAHAM: Merry Christmas.
LOOM: Merry Christmas. Thank you and God bless you, and if you want to get some information also on the lost boys, you can call at Steel Creek (ph) 704-525-1133, or you can all up Franklin Graham in Boone, and you will get in touch with us. We'll come to your church, or anywhere you want us to come to and share our faith and struggle.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much, James. I really appreciate it.
LOOM: Thank you so much.
WHITFIELD: Happy holidays to all of you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
