Laidlaw Foundation, committed to investing in education to change lives, has given a grant of £250k to SOS-Children’s Villages to provide immediate and mid-term help to victims of the ongoing war.
[LONDON, June 2022] – The Laidlaw Foundation will support SOS-Children’s Villages emergency aid programmes for Ukrainian children. The £250k grant aims to provide the security and basic needs necessary for children to be able to return to school and continue their education within their countries of refuge.
The increasing intensity of the conflict in Ukraine has contributed to growing internal displacement and cross-border movement, making this the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II. Nearly two-thirds of Ukrainian children have been displaced in the last six weeks. Hundreds of schools and educational facilities have been attacked or used for military purposes, while others serve as shelters for civilians. The education of 5.7 million school-age children and 1.5 million students in higher education has been interrupted, according to UNICEF.
The donation from the Laidlaw Foundation will allow 110 children and their caregivers to receive care, protection, assistance, and education. Significant education measures will also be funded including access to school, capacity building of teachers, and activities for child wellbeing to ensure successful educational outcomes.
Lord Laidlaw of Rothiemay said: “We believe that every child has the right to food and shelter, to feel safe, and to be educated. No child should have to endure what the children of Ukraine are now suffering. It is why we are helping to fund the critical support SOS Children’s Villages is providing to children affected by the war in Ukraine.”
Alain Kappeler, Managing Director of SOS-Children’s Villages Switzerland, said: “Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we can offer shelter to traumatised children outside Ukraine, and the security that they will not be separated from their caregivers, whenever this is possible.”
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About SOS Children’s Villages
SOS Children’s Villages is an independent nonprofit which provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to children in need and protects their interests and rights around the world. Since 2003, SOS Children’s Villages has been operating in Ukraine to strengthen families, provide loving homes to children without parental care, send emergency assistance to families in conflict areas, support young people, and advocate for social reform. Since the beginning of the war, SOS Ukraine has continued and scaled up its activities to provide all possible help to vulnerable families and children to mitigate the negative impact of the war.
About the Laidlaw Foundation
The Laidlaw Foundation invests in the education of the underprivileged and underrepresented in order to break the cycle of poverty, reduce inequality and develop a new generation of leaders. Our funding supports four core programmes:
- Sponsoring the Laidlaw Schools Trust – a growing, Multi-Academy Trust in the North East of England, providing inspirational education to transform lives,
- Developing a new generation of diverse leaders who embrace research-based decision making and ethical leadership through our Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research programme at the world’s leading universities,
- Ensuring more women reach the C-Suite by providing MBA scholarships at London Business School and Oxford University’s Saïd Business School
- Funding the start-up ideas of Laidlaw Scholars by investing in their business through Laidlaw Scholars Ventures.
To learn more, visit laidlawfoundation.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.