With just over a week to go, an incredible £1,250,000 has been raised by generous readers for the 2024 Guardian and Observer appeal in support of victims of conflict and war.
Three charities will benefit from the appeal: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and War Child, which carry out frontline medical aid work in war zones, and Parallel Histories, which helps schools teach sensitive and controversial histories such as those of Northern Ireland, Israel and Palestine.
The overall total stood at £1,262,000 at midday on Friday, with more than 11,200 readers donating to the appeal. It is the 10th year in a row the annual appeal has raised over £1m. Over the past decade it has raised just short of £15m for good causes.
The inspiring work of our three partner charities has been featured in a series of articles, a short film and a Today in Focus podcast over the past few weeks. The appeal runs to midnight on Sunday 12 January.
One reader, explaining why they had donated to the appeal, said: “This may seem so little to give in the face of all the world’s suffering, but if even one traumatised child can ever feel secure, or warm, or relaxed enough to smile again, then make it so.”
Hundreds of readers have left email messages via the online donation page. One said: “Just trying to do a small positive thing in the face of what sometimes feels like relentless misery in the world.”
Another said: “I am a pensioner with mobility problems and my husband has Alzheimer’s, but compared to the people you are trying to help, we live in luxury. I hope this donation helps a little.”
Dr Natalie Roberts, the executive director of MSF UK, said: “Thank you to the Guardian and Observer readers for your support. Thanks to you, we can continue our vital work on the frontlines, responding in situations of crisis and providing healthcare to people who need it most.”
Bill Rammell, the chief executive of Parallel Histories, said: “We bring young people together to collaborate across community divides through research and debate. By giving oxygen to discussion of the controversial topics that divide society, we build social cohesion. Your donations will help us to do much more of this.”
Introducing the appeal in December, the Guardian’s editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner, asked readers to support the appeal “as a signal of commitment to peace, human rights and social justice, and as a gesture of solidarity with the millions of people whose lives and livelihoods have been destroyed through war and violence”.
