Donate to help Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Dear Friends, 

Thank you to every single one of you for the messages of support you have sent over the last month. I have been affected by the devastating events in my home country of Ukraine. Heavy fighting, shelling and air strikes across the country are impacting the lives of my own family and friends.  

In the early hours of Friday 15 April I will be starting a gruelling 174 km canoe race from Devizes, Wiltshire. Over the course of 19 hours I will be travelling down the Kennet and Avon Canal and the river Thames, to finish my race on Sunday afternoon in Teddington. The race includes 77 locks so as well as arduous paddling there is a considerable amount of running involved too. This is a physical and mental challenge that many enter but do not accomplish. 

The training for this event has been hard, but putting the words to paper is somewhat harder. Getting up at 5am on dark January mornings, canoeing over 100 km per week is challenging, and asking for help with equipment, race support - even more so.   I couldn't do this without my incredible support team.

If you would like to join me in supporting the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal by sponsoring me for this challenging race, I would be so grateful for any support that you can give.

DEC charities are in Ukraine and neighbouring countries meeting the needs of all refugees and displaced people: 

£10 could provide emergency food for one person for two weeks
£20 could provide five blankets to families taking shelter 
£30 could provide essential hygiene supplies for three people for one month 
£50 could provide blankets for four families 
£100 could provide emergency food for two families for one month 

Together with the funds we raise, we could help provide care for individuals and families fleeing the conflict with only the items they were able to carry. Your donation, however large or small, can help people in desperate need.

I will continue to update you on the status of my journey. I will be doing another "warm up" race this Sunday - 6.5 h of paddling in near zero temperatures. 

The warm up race is done and I might have won the top mug.  Beautiful frozen fields, 2 protective swans and many frozen fingers.

Thank you to everyone in advance for your support with this challenging race. Any amount that you can sponsor would mean so much to me.


Ludy.