Two million Ukrainian children have fled war since the Russian invasion in February 2022, and the UK has enabled tens of thousands of them to come to our country. Sanctuary Foundation has designed a gift book that introduces them to life in the UK and can become a treasured memento of this significant time in their lives.

The book includes messages of welcome from British celebrities including Bear Grylls (adventurer and Chief Scout), Tom Odell (singer/songwriter), Mel Giedroyc (actress), Anoushka Shankar (musician) and Gemma Hunt (television presenter), and from Ukrainian celebrities including Andrei Pietov (goalkeeper), Jamala (singer) and Igor Kuzmenko (Dancing with the Stars winner).

The colourful bilingual book is designed to:

• Welcome Ukrainian children to the UK
• Convey lots of information about life in the UK
• Help Ukrainian children to build bridges with their UK peers
• Help children to navigate conversations
• Offer support for those learning the English language
• Help children to keep safe in the UK
• Signpost children and parents to people who can help them
• Be a keepsake to help children make sense of their life story in the future
• Help children reflect on their perceptions and experiences of life in the UK
• Help children to feel comfortable raising questions and seeking answers