AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD boy from Allendale is fundraising to help families in Ukraine.
Alexander Harding is half-Ukrainian and many of his family members live in the war-torn country.
The Allendale Primary School pupil decided he wanted to do something to help and is now fundraising to purchase explosive hazard awareness cards for people in Ukraine to use.
The cards look similar to normal playing cards, but each shows a picture of a type of unexploded landmine, grenade, shell, missile or bomb, along with their name in Ukrainian.
The cards, designed and produced by UK explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) experts at Fenix Insight, are distributed free-of-charge to families and official organisations so people can familiarise themselves with the different hazards they may now face.
Fenix Insight has already self-funded 10,000 packs, and are trying to raise the funds to print and distribute many more.
It costs around £2 to print each pack and for it to be shipped to SOS-UA logistics centre on the Polish-Ukrainiain border. They are then collected by aid volunteers for distribution within Ukraine.
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Alexander will now be collecting donations over the next two weeks at his school and from across the wider Allendale community, and a JustGiving page has also been set up.
"I'm extremely proud of him," said Alexander's dad Jan Harding. "It's a very difficult situation and there's only so much we can tell him, because of his age but he has huge compassion for his family and people he has met in Ukraine and wanted to do something to help.
"He's really excited to be helping. For Alexander it makes him feel like he's making a difference."
He added: "There is no doubt that these cards save lives and help prevent the most horrible injuries.
"The more people who receive them, the greater the chances of protecting Ukrainian families."
To donate via Alexander's JustGiving page, visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/alexanderharding
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