"Children in Direct Provision feel isolated enough without having to feel like they're missing out on Christmas as well."
Daniel Lambert, Chief Operating Officer at Bohemian FC, is unwavering as he tells me about his involvement the MASI Christmas Toy Drive that's now in its third year. "It's never any easy decision for any of these people to leave their home country, they do it because they want a better life for themselves and their families. If we can bring a smile to a few faces around Christmas time then that's a job well done," he says.
Daniel is a busy man, combining his role at Bohs with one as co-owner at Bang Bang D7 café in Phibsboro. Still, over the past three years, he's found time to help brighten up the festive season for those who need it most. Back in 2018, Daniel first approached MASI (Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland) about the possibility of setting up a Christmas Toy Drive for children in Direct Provision. Bohs had already established a connection with MASI, regularly organising buses to take people from Direct Provision centres to watch matches at their Dalymount Park home in Phibsboro, and with Christmas on the horizon, Daniel came up with an idea.
"Basically, I got in touch with Lucky Khambule, the co-founder of MASI, about organising some kind of toy collection for the kids in Direct Provision. We organised a gift collection for a centre in Clondalkin, with donations going towards children from babies right up to the age of 17. People could call into Bang Bang and they'd be given an age and a gender and they'd go off and buy a present and before I knew it, my living room was filled with presents that would be going towards kids in Direct Provision."
With the inaugural edition of the toy drive being such a huge success, Daniel decided to repeat the operation in 2019. This time, 500 children were invited to a Christmas party at Dalymount. "It was a brilliant day for everyone involved and a real team effort," Daniel says. "Between Bohs volunteers, players, coaches and DHL who deliver the presents, there were about 40 or 50 people who made it happen."
This year, the aim is even bigger and Daniel and the team are hoping to raise enough money for gifts for 1,000 children. That's a target of €30,000 at €30 for each child. The massive effort has already been given a helping hand by Smyths Toys who have donated €5,000 a cause which has just over €29,000 at the time of writing.
https://twitter.com/dlLambo/status/1321388529352663040
Direct Provision centres from all over Ireland will benefit from this year's toy drive, including ones in Dublin, Wicklow, Kerry, Monaghan and Galway to name just a few counties. While everyone is disappointed that Dalymount Park can't host a day out this year, there's still plenty of work to be done between organising, wrapping and distributing presents. With the Bohs first team squad undertaking regular Covid tests, Daniel plans to get them to work on packing the gifts as soon as possible.
This is just the latest example of Bohs players and staff helping out their community, something which Daniel tells me is ingrained in the club ethos. "We're only strong as the people who support us and the people who support us do good things," he says. "Football is hyper-commercialised these days but it still has the power to reach people. When we do something like this, it gets covered online and in magazines and we can reach young kids and teenagers and show them the importance of community and helping out those who are in need."
The toy drive project clearly means a lot to Daniel, who says that "children in Direct Provision feel isolated enough when they get over here without missing out on Christmas as well. Imagine the feeling they get when they receive a present that someone has gone out of their way to buy for them. Their own parents haven't got the means to buy presents for them, some say that it's from them, some say it's from it's from Santa. Whatever works for them, as long as they all get a little bit of joy at Christmas time."
There's just a small bit to go to reach this year's target and if you wish to help out you can do so via this
PayPal link. Alternatively, if Bang Bang D7 is
within your 5km, you can drop in a gift in person. At the end of a year that hasn't been enjoyable for anyone, what might seem like a small gesture to you would be huge for those kids in Direct Provision.
And that really is what Christmas is all about.
