Wetherill Park resident, Milan Maksimovic and his family, have brought good-will and cheer to many refugee families during the Christmas and New Year season, delivering hampers to about 500 families from Syria and Iraq.
Milan, who was himself a refugee from Yugoslavia 20 years ago, collected donations from various organisations and parishes around Sydney. His wife Hilda Youkhanna Maksimovic and his five-year-old son Christian helped to pack and deliver the goods to families. The hampers consisting of food, clothing, toiletries and toys were given to refugee families in the Fairfield and Liverpool areas.
“To meet these lovely families and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea with them is our uttermost joy,” Mr Maksimovic said.
“To see their happy faces and to hear their kind words and their gratitude is what keeps us going as we know that they are worth every minute we spend receiving calls and texts getting their information, sorting through gifts, packing them for each family, labelling and delivering them.”
“Some of them have lost their family members and many of them have serious health conditions requiring medical and surgical procedures. But they all shared with us that we have given them more than just a present, we have given them hope.”
