According to The Guardian and the UN, over 5,400 people have died, 13,000 have been injured, and 1.6 million people are displaced due to the war in Ukraine. UNICEF estimates that 1.7 million children are affected by this crisis.

These statistics are everyday life for the children living in Ukraine.

Polina Oliynyk and I are working with the Ukraine Charity, based in the UK, to send children affected by war and child refugees to Tarasivka Summer Camp in the UK. These children affected by the war in Ukraine deserve to have a piece of their childhood returned to them--it's the least we can do.

Polina and I are high school students in Upper Arlington, Ohio, USA and we are fundraising both locally and with JustGiving. Upper Arlington High School will be handling all funds made locally (all proceeds will go to the Ukraine Charity), while the Ukraine Charity will be handling all of the funds made through JustGiving.

I (Maria) am Romanian with family born in Ukraine while Polina is Ukrainian, so this is an issue important to the both of us.

Please help us give these children a piece of their childhood back.

If we reach our fundraising goal of $5,000, we will both dump buckets of blue and yellow paint on our heads in honor of Ukraine.

Sources:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/16/peace-putin-ukraine-moscow-kiev

http://blogs.unicef.org/2015/02/24/in-eastern-ukraine-ceasefire-seems-far-away-as-childrens-needs-grow/