BELMONT, N.C. – Students at Belmont Abbey College are helping spread cheer to children around the world this holiday season.
What You Need To Know
Students at Belmont Abbey College packed and sent out 251 shoeboxes for Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child
The gifts are sent to kids affected by war, poverty, famine or natural disasters
Student Marvellous Okonne, who is from Central Africa, received a shoebox when he was a child
Students packed hundreds of shoeboxes with donated supplies such as toys, notebooks and colored pencils. It’s part of Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child, which sends gifts to kids affected by war, poverty, famine or natural disasters.
Student Marvellous Okonne grew up in Central Africa. He remembers running from gunfire at 6 years old as his family tried to escape a conflict near his hometown.
“My dad, my mom and my siblings all ran separate, and I was left alone,” Okonne said.
Okonne says he soon found someone who took him to a nearby orphanage. He spent two months there and was barely able to sleep at night.
“I was just thinking about my family,” Okonne said.
Once the conflict ended, Okonne was taken back to his hometown to reunite with his family.
“And that was when I saw my mom from afar and she ran towards me and gave me hugs and kisses,” Okonne said. “She said ‘Marvellous, I thought I lost you,' and I said, 'Mom, I thought I lost you too.’”
Okonne’s parents found it hard to get jobs after the conflict and couldn’t afford to send him to school.
“I was about 8 years old and my family went to church,” Okonne said. “As we got to the end of the service, that’s when they announced they have a special gift for all the children.”
The gift was an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. Okonne loved to write and draw as a kid and was especially grateful for the donated notebooks, pens and pencils.
“It reminded me that all is going to be well soon,” Okonne said. “God is going to provide.”
Okonne eventually got the opportunity to go back to school and moved to the United States in 2015. Okonne reflects on what his mother told him before he boarded the plane to America.
“She said, ‘Marvellous, when you get to the States, promise me that you’re going to make me proud, promise me that you’re going to respect people.’”
When he arrived in North Carolina, he remembers visiting a warehouse that was filled with red and green boxes.
“I know that God was calling on me to share that same love to kids around the world,” Okonne said.
Each fall since his sophomore year at Belmont Abbey, Okonne rallies his campus community to donate supplies and help pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child. His mission to spread hope to children around the world is being met with overwhelming support from students and staff.
“He brought it to our students, to our college, and brought the whole community together,” said Coordinator of Student Life Cathy Comeau. “It was everyone in the community contributing to this and being part of it.”
As Marvellous wraps up his final year at Belmont Abbey College, he wishes his gift of hope continues to inspire students for years to come.
“I know my legacy is for people to do what they love and do what they’re passionate about,” Okonne said. “Because everyone has a story, and it’s how you present your story that matters.”