The challenge of kayaking around Ireland is not something we had planned to do, it was a reaction in April this year to the war in Ukraine, we felt hopeless to help and both of us had a deep desire to do something. The Kayak Round Ireland is a big ask with work and other commitments but with the help of colleagues, friends and family we began to realise that it was possible. The Challenge has one main objective and that is to raise as much money as we are able in a secure way and then ensure that 100% of donations go to those that need it. We have ensured this by working with highly secure and protected Merchant Bank facilities provided through internationally recognised Stripe and Halifax Banking who provide a financial infrastructure platform for millions of businesses from the world’s largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups.
Once we knew that funds could be collected in a secure way we set about building this website and its functionality, to save money we did this ourselves and have been through a very steep learning curve.
We decided that all funds would go to 'Save the Children' who are members of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
Below are two short videos produced by the United National Refugee Agency (UNHCR) that summarise far better than we can why we have decided to undertake this Challenge. Please continue to support us and with your help we will complete the task ahead of us and ensure that in a small way we help people just like Olya in the film .
Thanks you
Sarah & Paul
No one uprooted by war can unsee the horrors they have witnessed.
That is the powerful message of “Uprooted”, a new short film released today by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
Featuring a cast and crew of more than 50 refugees from Ukraine now living in Germany, the film is an expression of solidarity with refugees around the world for what they have had to endure.
The film opens in nighttime Berlin: a door slamming in the wind; an ambulance driving down the street with its sirens blaring; fireworks filling the sky with flashes and explosions.
In response, Ukrainian refugees cower in fear or run for their lives, their terrifying memories of conflict triggered by these seemingly unremarkable events. The action closes with a dramatic scene in an empty Berlin square, where refugees form the shape of a tree firmly rooted to the earth by the embrace of dozens of people.
“To survive the memories of war, refugees need the support and embrace of us all,” the closing title reads.
All of the actors that appear in the film are refugees from Ukraine.
Olya, who appears in the first few seconds, was at home drinking tea with her mother in Ukraine when she saw a missile strike the house opposite, since escaping Olya has not seen or heard from her parents since.