1,100 Families Receive Aid from Mothers’ Aid Society
Getting food packages ready. Photo/mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
Close to 1,100 families will receive aid from the Mothers’ Aid Society of Reykjavík this Christmas season, Morgunblaðið reports. “The aid we provide here is needed by many people, and this is a very rewarding job,” states Anna H. Pétursdóttir, who heads the society. Christmas food donations were handed out yesterday and will be today as well.
Those who receive the aid come to the society’s facilities on Hátún, Reykjavík, to pick up food and other necessities.
Anna H. Pétursdóttir. Photo: mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
Numerous volunteers showed up yesterday to help out, some of them from local businesses.
Among the food items handed out is chicken, meatballs, legs of lamb and glazed ham. Anna has taken part in the work of the Mothers’ Aid Society since 2004 and been its leader since 2015.
She states that the number of families seeking aid has varied from year to year. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, nearly 2,000 families received aid, and last year, they were about 1,500, when unemployment rates were high in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This year, the number of families is about 1,100, simply because the employment situation is better,” Anna states. She adds that the numbers do not tell the whole story, since there is usually a sad story behind every family’s troubles.
The handing out of food packages, which concludes today, will be followed by the handing out of Christmas presents on Monday. At that time, parents in a vulnerable situation can receive gifts for their children, such as toys and books. Usually, there are two gifts per child, in addition to a book and a jigsaw puzzle.
