STAR OF STAGE AND SCREEN VANESSA KIRBY JOINS WAR CHILD AS GLOBAL AMBASSADOR

The Crown and Mission: Impossible – Fallout star Vanessa Kirby is joining War Child UK, the charity for children affected by conflict as Global Ambassador. In her newest role she will be help raise awareness of the needs of children affected by conflict across the globe.

Vanessa has long been a passionate supporter of War Child’s work ever since becoming a donor when looking for a charity that specialises in children coping with the aftermath of war. The cause is close to her heart as she studied conflict in South Africa and as part of the course worked in townships in South Africa with families that had been torn apart by the civil war there.

Over the past few years Vanessa has been working closely with War Child learning more about the issues faced by children living with war. Earlier this year Vanessa took her first visit to a War Child country programme and spent time with boys and girls who have been living in Za’atari refugee camp since being forced to flee their homes in Syria.

Vanessa has been working hard behind the scenes by hosting a number of private events, including an exclusive screening of The Crown Season 2, as well as raising awareness for the charity through the ‘Wear it for War Child’ campaign with designer Bella Freud.

In her new role as Global Ambassador she will be working even more closely with War Child to bring attention to the plight of children affected by war and is working on some exciting plans for 2019.

Yesterday Vanessa was on the ground visiting Betty Layward school in London, which has been twinned with a school in Iraq as part of the War Child campaign ‘Learn to Live’ with the Evening Standard and Independent.

Vanessa Kirby, War Child UK Global Ambassador:

“Working for War Child is the most important role in my life. I know I’ve been so lucky and it’s such a privilege to be able to be able to do something to help. When I visited the Syrian Refugee camp with War Child and saw their amazing work – I knew that this was a job I really wanted.

Children do not get to choose the situations they are faced with and it’s not enough to be there only at the point of conflict. We can help them to overcome adversity and heal the internal wounds to reclaim their childhoods so they can be a part of rebuilding their communities and shaping their own futures.”

Rob Williams, CEO of War Child UK:

“We are really excited to officially welcome Vanessa as she joins our family. She’s been part of the team behind the scenes for a while so we are delighted that she said yes to formally becoming a Global Ambassador. Working with someone as brilliant as Vanessa means we will be able to continue to reach new audiences and shine a light on the work we do to support children and young people affected by conflict across the world.”

Vanessa joins Carey Mulligan, Marcus Mumford and Sam Smith as global ambassadors who work to fight injustice, raise awareness and drive donations for War Child UK.

War Child is striving for a world with no child’s life torn apart by war. In 2017...

• We reached 165,231 children, young people and adults directly • 87% of our money went directly towards our mission • 47,929 former child soldiers were supported through our projects • 20,442 calls were made to our child helplines • 41,000 children from Mosul attended our Temporary Learning Spaces

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For more information please contact the War Child press office: [email protected] / 020 7916 9276

ABOUT WAR CHILD UK

War Child is striving for a world where children’s lives are no longer torn apart by war.

We protect, educate and stand up for the rights of children caught up in conflict. We aim to reach children as early as possible when conflict breaks out, and stay to support them through their recovery - helping to keep them safe, give them an education, and equip them with skills for the future.

We understand children’s needs, respect their rights, and put them at the centre of the solution - from supporting Syrian children to access education, to reintegrating child soldiers in the Central African Republic and promoting justice for young people in detention in Afghanistan. Together with our partners we work in 15 countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and Latin America.

We also work with children and young people to change systems and practices that affect them – campaigning on the root causes of conflict and demanding that children are at the centre of humanitarian response.

Web: https://www.warchild.org.uk/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warchilduk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/WarChildUK Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warchilduk/

Charity number: 1071659