Children helping children on Missionary Childhood Day

(Vatican Radio) January the 6th is not just the feast of the Epiphany but also marks Missionary Childhood Day which is celebrated in over 100 countries throughout the world. Children helping children is the key feature of Missionary Childhood Day and involves school kids taking part in special fund-raising projects to help other children less fortunate than themselves. Sister Janet Fearns is the Publications Officer at the Missio charity in England which is part of the worldwide network of the Pontifical Mission Societies and she spoke to Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges.

Listen to the extended interview with Sister Janet Fearns:

Sister Fearns says Missionary Childhood Day is "intended to give children an experience of what mission means." She says the school children respond with great enthusiasm to this annual appeal and show their inventiveness in thinking up unusual but effective ways to raise money for poor and needy children around the world.

Sister Fearns points to the example of "one little 8 year old (in the UK) who on her own initiative raised £60 by having a day of sponsored silence at school." A few years ago there was also the case of a group of children who "raised money for a boy in Nigeria who needed a wheelchair" as he was reduced to "crawling" for getting around. According to Sister Fearns, the children really get caught up in the desire to help other kids and this particular project was so successful that the original fundraising goal was far exceeded. "In the end they actually raised enough money to buy 33 cheelchairs!" she says.