Save the Children UK has launched a £1m fundraising appeal to outfit and support a search and rescue boat which will operate in the Mediterranean over the next 15 months.
Save the Children UK launched its appeal on Wednesday and have said that its ship will “rescue children and their families” from the water as they cross from northern Africa seeking asylum in Europe.
STC UK said that over 90 per cent of children currently crossing the Mediterranean by boat as refugees travel alone.
The £1m figure will outfit the search and rescue craft and cover the costs of having medical treatment, food, water and clothes on board for at least 15 months.
STC UK said that they are aiming to launch the boat in early September. This is the first time that the charity have launched a fundraising appeal to outfit a search and rescue boat.
Tanya Steele, interim chief executive of Save the Children UK, said: “Children are children, first and foremost. Whatever they are fleeing from, they have the right to be safe. We have an obligation to protect children and their families, whether here in Europe already, or during their dangerous and deadly journey.
“We have taken this decision to intervene at sea because we are convinced that, despite the extraordinary work already done by authorities as well as aid agencies, our initiative will make a valuable contribution to search-and-rescue operations in order to save lives.”
Civil Society News has asked STC UK how much has been raised so far.
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