Santa and his helpers visited the “Božan Šimović” Barracks of the AFBiH’s 4th Infantry Brigade in Čapljina recently. The kids excitedly waited for Santa's arrival in the Barracks' gym and, of course, what he had in his Christmas Sack.
The excitement was heightened by a presentation by the local cheerleading group. The wait was not in vain, as Santa came to them from far away again this year to hand over his gifts to them. The children made his arrival homelier by singing Christmas carols. Santa asked the braver children to sing in front of the others, recite their favourite Christmas songs, rhymes, poems.
This year, Santa heard that every child behaved well, so he brought plenty of presents in his bag. Santa gifted the more than fifty children one by one, who gladly picked up their gifts.
After the gift-giving, Santa remained in their circles for some photos, then said goodbye. The children have gone home with their packages, and we hope to look forward to the next year’s Santa Claus Celebration with the same enthusiasm.
Special thanks goes to Military dean Martin Steiner, military chaplain and Civ. Annemarie Markun, troop psychologist from the Austrian National Contingent supporting EUFOR. Civ. Ljiljana Nišić, EUFOR’s interpretation helped Santa with his communication. Civ. Almir Berkovac documented the event. Two Hungarian soldiers, Corporal Róbert Botlik and Lieutenant Colonel Árpád Tóth, and a Turkish officer, Major Murat Koyman who is Liaison Officer to 4th Infantry Brigade ensured that Santa made it to the event safely and helped to present gifts.
The event was organised by Chief military personnel officer of the 4th Infantry Brigade AFBiH, Lieutenant Colonel Mijo Šteko. The children's gifts were collected by EUFOR's Austrian and Hungarian soldiers.