Update - Wed 30th  Thank you for your kind donations - the girls have now 'travelled' 786km from St Cat's on their way to Kyiv 32% of the way there.  Last week the charity rescued 63 children from an orphanage in Dnipro in a 50 hour operation.  Adult refugees were asked to help carry seven of the children who were too exhausted to walk.  They are now safe in Romania. safe and well and receiving the support they need. More rescues are being planned.

Being students at St Cat’s, we have always been very lucky in being a part of a global, world-wide community which gives us the opportunity to be mindful of developments around the world and those affected.  In true St Cat’s spirit, girls from across all years have jumped at the opportunity to help the Ukrainian refugees.  Bake sales have been organised and families of St Cat’s have rallied together to donate, in the masses, essential clothes, sleeping bags, tents and other supplies which will be going to the refugees. Over the last week, L5 girls have taken time out from their evenings to sort, label and pack the donations which were sent out on Friday, 18th March.

Now we are setting out to stand alongside the people of the Ukraine by running, walking or cycling the 2,458km distance from St Cat's to the Kyiv.  Together as a community we can show we care. Please donate in recognition of the distance we cover, which we will report here regularly, and you will encourage us on the way from St Cat’s to Kyiv and support those in urgent need.

Funds raised will be donated to Hope and Homes for Children a charity born out of the Balkans Crisis 30 years ago and has seen the long-term effect that war has on children. They seek to support children and their families in both Ukraine and the neighbouring countries which are sheltering Ukrainian refugees. 

In Ukraine, the charity is helping rural communities, connecting them to water, food and supplies. It is also pressing for funding and assistance from the UN, EU and governments and, as the situation in Ukraine deteriorated, they helped evacuate 70 children to safer locations. Outside of Ukraine, they are helping families and unaccompanied children who have crossed the border, providing them with both material support and emotional care with their team of child psychologists. For example, in Moldova, the charity has been called upon to create a UNICEF Blue Dot hub on the border which will provide the potential hundreds or thousands of families with children, who will be forced to cross, with round the clock care. 

This charity is doing incredible work, with social workers and psychologists leaving their families and home to help, helping people whose lives have been completely changed in a matter of a few weeks, and we would love to support them the best we can, especially since they are a small organisation with limited resources. So we urge everyone to get involved, to get moving, and to donate in any way you can.

Together we can make a difference.  Thank you for your support.

Let us go on…