Man tracks down siblings who sent him Christmas present as he fled war 33 years agoDalibor Sentic was 10 when in the early 1990s his family fled Croatia for Sweden.15 hrs agoWales

A man forced to flee war in Croatia as a child has used social media to find and thank the siblings from Wales, who sent him a Christmas present more than 30 years ago.

Dalibor Sentic was 10 when in the early 1990s his family fled the newly independent country – which had recently become involved in the Balkan war – for Stockholm, Sweden.

Dalibor had received a gift from two young siblings, eight-year-old Claire and Peter, six, from Mold, Flintshire, and had hoped to track them down but only had limited information on them.

Decades later, Dalibor, now 44, was able to find the pair to thank them, saying the gesture had “meant a lot” at a time of great difficulty.

“It was like starting all over again.

“I was so innocent but remember hearing the bombs,” he said.

Dalibor said that, despite the conflict surrounding them, his parents made sure he felt “loved and secure”, although he added that moving countries was “tough on a kid”.

Some months before they fled, Dalibor said his teacher took him into a room full of packages, telling him to choose one to open.

It contained a picture of Claire and Peter, which he held onto for more than three decades.

“The older you get the more you understand the meaning behind small gestures… it meant a lot,” he said.

Many years later, using the limited details written on the back of the picture, he decided to track them down, joining a local community group for Mold, where he shared the picture.

In under five hours he had found them – Claire Powell and Peter Sanders.

“I couldn’t believe it was actually them,” Dalibor said.

Peter said hearing from Dalibor “knocked me sideways”, but added it showed the “positive side of social media”.

“And more importantly how those little acts of kindness can have such an impact on others.”

Speaking of the initiative to send packages to children facing difficulties, Peter said they did it every year.

“Our mum and dad were both teachers so they were all for this type of thing.

“We were brought up to take part in these things and to recognise that not everybody was as fortunate as us.”

He said the development had made him think about the “small things” that could be done to help others.

Peter, who now has three children, showed the picture to his family and explained the story.

They are now keen to take part in a similar initiative.

“All of a sudden, all three of them wanted to put some toys and stuff in a box and send it out,” he said.