The festively decorated Christmas house in Geesdorf, Germany, once again captivated numerous onlookers from the first day of Advent right through to Epiphany. All were seeking the enchantment of the endless lights, colors and figures that lit up the sky after darkness fell on the estate of the German-American Lordo family. The decorations reached from the front garden of the house, past the windows and the balcony and right up to the roof.

To round off the Christmas season, the Lordos, together with Mix For Kids, invited guests to the light show – a cozy gathering at the Christmas house just before New Year’s Eve, with soothing sounds from trombones and trumpets alongside servings of bratwurst, potato soup, mulled wine, liqueur, fruit punch and home-baked cake. The turnout was so big that a lot of the food and drink sold out during the course of the evening – to the delight of the Mix for Kids volunteers, as the proceeds from the event were going to the non-profit organization.

Donation proceeds total 3,000 euros

A considerable 3,000 euros were collected in donations. The Weiglein fruit farm from Geesdorf contributed 300 euros thanks to the potato and vegetable soup sold by Andrea Weiglein. Meanwhile Spaths Hof, also from Geesdorf, offered a selection of home-distilled schnapps and liqueurs, allowing Annette Spath to pass on 280 euros to Mix for Kids. Andrea Kohles from the Kohles winery in Prichsenstadt provided Mix for Kids with mulled wine at a reduced price. And the donation boxes set up by John and Birgit Lordo and their son Thomas at the Christmas house during Advent collected 650 euros.

At the Lordo family’s request, the entire donation went to help children in South Africa. In Mbongolwane, some 500 kilometers southeast of the metropolis of Johannesburg, the Oberzell Monastery from Würzburg runs a home for orphans and foundlings, with a school and kindergarten attached. Without donations from Germany, the Franciscan nuns would be unable to run the three facilities.

Money goes to children’s home in South Africa

“The money from Geesdorf goes directly and in full to the children in Mbongolwane. Families are overwhelmed, the state cannot help everyone. Here, we take care of the poorest of the poor,” says Sister Margit Herold. Birgit Lordo, who is in personal contact with the Oberzell Monastery, adds: “I visited Mbongolwane as a young woman and experienced the poverty for myself. My late uncle Father Albert Herold was active in the mission there all his life. It makes me so happy that the money from our event will be donated to them and that everyone who has participated and donated will have together helped to relieve some of the suffering in Zululand.”

The children’s home in Mbongolwane provides a safe home for 30 children up to the age of 15. They suffer from trauma caused by domestic violence or neglect and in some cases from health problems such as HIV. The sisters and staff working there try to give the children a stable home so that they can grow up in a protected environment with freedom to develop. Although the home receives state subsidies, these are not enough to provide the children with the basic necessities.