THOUSANDS of boxes filled with essential food were delivered to families in six Eastern European countries this Christmas, as part of a campaign to tackle poverty in the region.

In Operation Christmas Love, organised by Mission Without Borders (MWB), 30,000 boxes were distributed to people in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine. Each box was filled with goods purchased locally, including flour, sugar, rice, and canned goods.

Founded in 1960 in response to the needs of people living in poverty or suffering persecution in Communist Europe, MWB was previously called Underground Evangelism and, later, Aid to the Persecuted. The UK director, David Hardisty, said this month that evangelism remained a core aspect of the charity's work, which is conducted in partnership with local churches.

Boxes are delivered by or collected from local churches, but Mr Hardisty explained that "there is nothing to stop you just walking into a warm building and collecting a box." Christian literature was offered and often welcomed, he said. The charity was "pretty close" to completing its Jubilee Project of delivering a million Bibles to Eastern Europe - more than 700,000 have been distributed.

While Operation Christmas Love offers immediate relief to those in need, MWB provides longer-term support by recruiting sponsors for families.

"What we are looking to do is give them basic material goods but also help them in the spiritual, emotional, and educational areas of life," Mr Hardisty said. "We aim to help them become self-sufficient in all four aspects."

Sponsored families receive £72 a month and communication with the sponsors. "It is big thing for a family out there to find these people thousands of miles away who want to support them and help them and are not asking anything from them," Mr Hardisty said. "When you meet them the gratitude is overwhelming."