Young woodworker, who helped Ukrainian kids, now helping kids worldwide
A woodwork-loving teenager, who raised more than £250,000 to help Ukrainian children by raffling off a handmade bowl, is now trying to help youngsters across the world.
Gabriel Clark became a viral sensation last year with his 'Bowl for Ukraine' which was etched with the colours of the Ukrainian flag.
The 13-year-old, from Kirkby Lonsdale, has now created another bowl - called 'The Hope Bowl' - after seeing how money from his first fundraiser helped Ukrainian children living in Poland.
Gabriel visited a school in Warsaw, which supports more than 450 children from Ukraine.
They study the Ukrainian curriculum in their native language, as well as having Polish language lessons.
Gabriel told the Press Association: “I had an absolutely amazing time. All the children were so polite and they had amazing English.
“We played some traditional Ukrainian board games – I got horribly beaten in a game of ping pong – and I painted wooden eggs with the children, which is very traditional for Ukrainians.
“It was really interesting to learn about their culture and experience that firsthand.”
This year, Gabriel is raising money for Save the Children’s Emergency Fund, to support children further afield, in places including East Africa.
“I feel as though children can sometimes be under-appreciated and they need our support because they can’t work to earn money to help themselves,” he said.
“And the world has so many issues with it so I think if I can do my part to straighten some of them out then I want to try.”
The new bowl took him 10 hours to turn and includes three types of wood – ash, sapele and zebrano.
“I wanted to use different types of wood to make the bowl stripy or segmented to represent the different countries Save the Children work in and to show how they help different people around the world,” Gabriel added.
Lisa Aubrey, head of regional fundraising and engagement at Save the Children, said: “We are incredibly grateful for Gabriel’s continued support and everyone who has so far entered the draw for his latest wooden masterpiece.
“Our ambition to make the world a better place for children simply couldn’t happen without the efforts of young people like Gabriel.”
More details of Gabriel's latest fundraiser can be found here.