UNICEF’s 79th Birthday

UNICEF turned a post-war crisis into a mission focused on giving children a fair chance to grow.

UNICEF was created on 11 December 1946, when the world was rebuilding from World War II. The fighting had stopped, but the damage stayed—homes destroyed, families scattered, and millions of children left without food, safety, or support. UNICEF began because kids should not carry the weight of a war they never chose.

From the start, the work stayed very direct. Give children medical care. Give them food. Help them get back to school. Protect them when their surroundings can’t. These are basic needs, but without them, a child’s future collapses before it even begins.

UNICEF’s birthday isn’t about celebration. It’s a reminder of why it exists—children must be protected first, especially when the world is recovering from something bigger than them.

⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ

Merely Christmas • Darem Placer
Out this season on Bandcamp.

When Saint Swithin Turned His Home into a Haven

One open door changed everything in a dangerous time.

In late 16th-century England, Swithin Wells lived at a time when being openly Catholic could cost you everything. He wasn’t a priest. He wasn’t a monk. He was a regular man with a steady faith, and that made his courage stand out even more.

He opened his own home for secret Masses because he knew people needed a place to pray safely. Every time he did that, he risked his freedom. Still, he kept going. Faith, for him, wasn’t a quiet idea—it was something you lived, even when the world pushed back.

One day, the authorities caught a group attending Mass in his house. Swithin wasn’t even home yet, but when he heard what happened, he didn’t hide. He walked straight into the situation and defended the priest and the people present. That bold step ended with his arrest.

He was sentenced to death by hanging for giving Catholics a place to worship. On the day he was led to the gallows, he stayed calm and even joked about it. He told the executioner, “Help me up the ladder and for coming down I can manage on my own.” It showed how fearless he was, carrying peace even in a moment meant to break him.

He died in 1591, steady to the end, loyal to what he believed. Saint Swithin Wells is remembered as a layman who chose conviction over comfort. His story shows how faith becomes powerful when lived with courage.

⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ

Merely Christmas • Darem Placer
Out this season on Bandcamp.