Ali and Amir's Christmas Fundraiser

Hi, we're Ali Ghaderi and Amir Ibrahimi, and we are founding members of Babylon Project. The video above is of us running 10k in the snow in London.

We were excited to see the snow, but it also reminded us of the people we lost to the cold on our journeys to a safe country. We wanted to show solidarity with asylum seekers who are suffering on their way to safety, to raise awareness of their situation, and to raise some money to help people in need this winter, in the UK and Europe.

Last year, Ali ran a Christmas fundraiser and with generous support, he was able to raise over £1700 to buy Christmas gifts for asylum seekers. This year, we are asking for donations for three worthy causes.

Given the cold weather we are experiencing, we will once again be buying warm clothing for asylum seekers in the UK, or giving them the means to buy clothes for themselves.

But we will also be sending some of the money raised to Babylon volunteers and friends in Greece. So many asylum seekers arriving in Greece will go on to make incredibly dangerous journeys across Europe, where they will be exposed to the elements, especially in Eastern Europe where temperatures are often below zero degrees. We want to make sure that asylum seekers have warm clothes for their journeys, and don't suffer the way we and people we know have suffered.

Finally, a third of the money raised will go to Babylon Project, a registered community interest company which provides creative activities for, with and by young people with refugee, asylum seeking and migrant backgrounds living in the UK. We have run 32 workshops since we started in August, providing a safe and welcoming environment in which our participants can make friends, express themselves and learn creative skills. Each workshop costs £500 to run, including travel expenses and a hot meal for our participants. Your donations will therefore be put to good use, helping young people to integrate and build community in the UK.

This is a tough winter for many people, but if you can, please consider donating to our Crowdfunder so that we can make some asylum seekers very happy!

If you want to learn more about Babylon Project, check out our website – www.babylonproject.co.uk. You can also find us on Twitter (@babylonproject1) and Instagram (@babylonproject). You can also see our personal Instagram accounts - @alighaderiuk and @amir_happy_78

Thanks so much!