By Emmanuel Elebeke
FOR residents of Ojodu area of Lagos State, the worry of shopping for the 2010 Christmas celebration may be over.

It's Xmas without tears

To them, there is also no need to bother about what their children  will wear during the season. This follows a Christmas jumbo sales organised by Christian Sisters Fellowship (CSF) last Sunday at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Ojodu, Lagos, where they displayed some of their used items at give away prices.

The products range from children toys and wears, home utensils, men and women wears, including ties and shoes.

Though the jumbo sales offer comes twice a year, especially during the festive seasons,  this edition appeared unique considering the number and the excitement of visitors at the sales ground.

When Vanguard Metro visited the venue of the sales, the place was filled to capacity, as women, young ladies and men, including young boys and girls, besieged the sales stands either to buy items of choice or to window-shop.

Children were also not left out as they were seen moving around the various stands to admire items on display,  while others were busy  pestering their parents to buy something for them to take home.

The CSF President, Mrs. Kiki Adegbite said the gesture was their own way of  caring and  extending Christmas love to the needy in the society. Though the items were used products contributed by their members and friends, they were high standard and sold at give away prices such as N10, N50, N100, and N200, depending on the quality.

Being a charity organisation, Mrs. Adegbide said the essence of selling the items was not to enrich their members, but to plough the proceeds back into other areas of need in the society.

According to her, the sales extravaganza had been on since over two and half years the organisation came into existence, especially during the festive season. Adegbite explained further that the festive season was targeted to make more impact on the lives of the people.

She dismissed the  possibility of her members hiding under the cover of the NGO to enrich themselves, saying that members of the organisation are  ready-made persons and successful personalities, who have made their marks in their chosen career.

“We felt that the only way to show love to the poor and less-privileged among us is to show them love by bringing out those items we are no longer in need of, rather than throwing them away as others do. You can see, the joy and happiness on their faces as they pick the items one after the other,” she stated, while calling on those privileged in the society to remember the poor in their midsts.

Some of the visitors who spoke to Vanguard Metro at the event, expressed their gratitude to the CSF members for remembering them this Christmas period. To them, that is the best way the rich and poor can share things in common.

One of them, Mr. Emmanuel Okolie said: “This is uncommon in this part of the world. It is a commendable effort on their part and I’m grateful to be part of this wonderful gesture. It is my hope that they will sustain it so that others will benefit from it and those wasting used items will borrow a leave from them.

Another visitor who claimed anonymity declared thus: “This is the spirit of Christmas in action. Even though we have to put down a token in an exchange for all these items, we are happy to be beneficiaries of this unique sales activity.

“I think I wouldn’t have a need going for another shopping this Christmas season for myself and my children. I can tell you that  the shopping of the 2010 Christmas is over”.

Christian Sisters Fellowship is a charity organization of women from different churches, who have come together with one destiny to engender a change and affect lives in a positive way.