A NATIONAL charity is appealing for donations to help children across the world.

Save the Children also needs volunteers in Worcestershire and Herefordshire to help its special week of fund-raising, to be launched on Sunday, April 27.

During the week, the charity will be raising awareness of its work both overseas and in Britain and will be asking people for donations.

There will be house-to-house collections and other events and volunteers are needed in the area to support that work.

A spokesman for the charity said that 7p can feed a child in Ethiopia for a day and 10p buys two bars of soap for the basic hygiene of a child in the Sudan.

Medicine

He said £5.70 buys medicine and equipment for 100 Afghan refugees to last one month and £25 is the cost of running a medical unit for 280 people in India for a day.

Save the Children has been working in Iraq since the first Gulf War in 1991 on reconstruction, education and child protection.

"We're already distributing blankets, fuel and children's clothes to the most vulnerable families in Northern Iraq who have fled the current conflict," the charity's spokesman said.

"Save the Children has the largest presence of any British aid agency in the region and the largest and longest standing presence in Northern Iraq."

Volunteers who can spare a few hours between Sunday, April 27, and Saturday, April 3, can contact Chris Lane, area manager for Hereford, Worcester and Warwickshire, on 01562 751300, or email volunteering@scfuk.org.uk