Last month, we reported that Caterham School student Rianna Patel, 15, was raffling her painting, A Ray of Hope, to raise funds for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The draw took place in May, and Mary Escott from Caterham was announced as the winner:
“Like most people, I felt desperately sad and indignant about Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Rianna's painting demonstrates a positive response: the people of Ukraine need hope, as well as material and military resources, and the painting expresses this very clearly, using the national colours of Ukraine as the palette. I bought a few tickets, mainly to help Rianna in her fund-raising, but I was delighted to win. The painting is very expressive, and it will be a permanent reminder that we all need hope. I find hope in my Christian faith, but without hope there is only despair. I believe young people like Rianna can help us remember to have hope that the future can be better than the past, even for those affected by this terrible conflict.”
Rianna’s raffle raised over £1,000 for DEC.
