Hello,

My name is Alexander Harding. I am 8-years-old and live in Allendale, England. I am also half-Ukrainian and many of my family are in Ukraine now, living through this awful war. They have very hard lives and it is a great worry. I wanted to do something to help people like them.

One of the problems the Ukrainian people face are the large quantities of unexploded and abandoned landmines, grenades, bombs, missiles and shells found across the countryside and in villages, towns and cities. There are millions of these now and their number is increasing each day. They pose an enormous threat to life. Children are especially vulnerable since they don’t know what they are and can easily mistake them for toys. Even the simplest everyday tasks can be very dangerous.

It will take many years to dispose of these unexploded hazards, so people have to live alongside them as best they can. Awareness campaigns are vital to ensuring that all people, and especially children, are kept as safe as possible whilst they do so. I wanted to raise some money to help Ukrainian families, schools and communities achieve this.

The money will be used to purchase packs of ‘Explosive Hazard Awareness Cards’. They are like normal playing cards, but each shows a picture of a type of unexploded landmine, grenade, shell, missile or bomb, along with their name in Ukrainian. These packs of cards are effective, portable and cheap. And are distributed free-of-charge to Ukrainian families and official organizations so people can familiarise themselves with the many different hazards they face.

The cards are designed and produced by a British company called Fenix Insight who are experts on explosive ordnance disposal. They have already self-funded 10,000 packs, but many more are needed. It costs around £2 to print each pack and have it shipped to a SOS-UA hub on the Polish-Ukrainian border. There they are collected by aid volunteers for distribution within Ukraine. There is no doubt that these cards save lives and help prevent the most horrible injuries. The more people who receive them, the greater the chances of protecting Ukrainian families.

Please give what you can. Every penny will be spent on the printing and shipping of these cards. Thank you.

Alexander Harding