Press Release                                          

5th August 2008

Blankets for Moldova Appeal

The worst floods to hit Eastern Europe in 200 years have driven children's charity Feed The Children UK to appeal for blankets to help the thousands of people to keep warm in their aftermath.

Disastrous floods have affected large areas of Moldova, Romania and the Ukraine, leaving at least 30 people dead and around 36,000 people in need of immediate emergency help.

Feed The Children has a shipment of aid in preparation for Moldova now, but is asking for help to fill the 20-tonne aid lorry.

As Chief Executive Officer Brian Main explains,

"We've seen floods in the UK, so we know what devastation they can cause.  Thanks to the generosity of supporters, we have plenty of food, toiletries and water filtration kits ready to send.  But we urgently need more blankets, which are desperately needed by families who have lost everything to filthy flood water."

Blankets can be any size or style - from cot to double bed size, knitted, crocheted, woven, or of any brand - so long as they are clean and useable.

Moldova, in between Romania and the Ukraine, is already one of the poorest countries in Europe, struggling with a large foreign debt and high unemployment.  The recent flooding has caused two rivers, the Nistru and the Prut, to burst their banks, overwhelming houses and washing tons of sewage and filth across towns and villages.  With high unemployment, many people depend on vegetables they can grow in their gardens - these have been nearly all lost.

Anyone wishing to donate blankets, or funds towards transport costs, can contact Feed The Children on 0118 932 0095, or can visit FTC's office at 2 Tavistock Industrial Estate, Ruscombe, Twyford.  RG10 9NJ.

Feed The Children works worldwide, as well as within the UK, to develop sustainable communities and provide food and other necessities for those in great need.  The charity concentrates aid on children suffering the effects of poverty, especially those orphaned or abandoned. The charity believes that wherever there is famine, conflict, disease or poverty, it is always the children who are most vulnerable.

Feed The Children UK began in 1989 and over the years the charity has helped millions of children and their families both at home and abroad. The charity relies on gifts from generous companies, individuals and organisations to donate the goods and financial assistance needed in order to support the various humanitarian and relief projects.