Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Recently, the award winning war artist, George Butler , who has been called the Paul Nash of our time by the author Michael Morpurgo, gave a talk and showed some of his drawings at the Green and Stone Gallery. The audience were extremely moved by his drawings and conversations with survivors, old and young, and touched by the Syrians' kindness towards him despite their difficulties and destitution.

In response to what he experienced in Syria, George cofounded the Hands Up Foundation, now renamed Action Syria. It is an innovative charity that funds health and education programmes in Syria and neighbouring countries where Syrians are living in refugee camps. It has raised over 6 million so far and pays the salaries of medical and teaching staff, helping Syrians to give a hand up rather than a handout.

From the safety and comfort of our homes in the UK its hard to imagine what life is like for them, and the media has moved on, but they are struggling in every way imaginable after 12 years of war, bereavement, injury, chaos, migration, poverty, sickness and despair, followed by an earthquake.

Do look at George's book : Drawn Across Borders True Stories of Migration(2021) and be inspired, moved and informed. For more information about the charity, head to:

www.handsupfoundation.org

Registered Charity No. 1156491

I feel compelled to help so am raising funds through selling artwork and running workshops on markmaking. However small the amount, it will mean a lot to the individual/s who benefit, and give them the seed of hope, which Primo Levi described as the essence of survival in his time as a concentration camp.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Between the 28th November and 3rd December, 2023, any donations will be doubled, so a:£25 donation could fund blankets for 10 newborn babies, a £50 donation could fund a refugee child’s education for a month a £100 donation could fund a doctor’s weekly salary.

Please forward to anyone you think may help and if you can donate, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you so much!

Elaine