Roots of Peace is launching the Stocking Giving campaign to raise awareness about the grave impact of landmines and other explosive remnants of war on children in Ukraine and around the world. As we prepare to enjoy the holidays, we must look for opportunities to bring aid to those whose childhoods have been irrevocably damaged by this senseless war.

The campaign is inspired by the stories of Natalia and Yana Stepanenko, a mother and daughter who were injured by a landmine at a train station in their native Ukraine in 2022. Natalia lost her leg in the explosion, while Yana, who was 11 years old at the time, lost both of her legs. On December 14, 2022, Roots of Peace founder and CEO Heidi Kuhn visited Natalia and Yana in their adopted home of San Diego, and presented a Christmas stocking to Yana as she prepares to celebrate her first Christmas in California. While in San Diego Heidi also presented a stocking to Ivan Chaban, a 16-year-old Ukrainian refugee who is undergoing rehabilitation for injuries sustained in a landmine explosion. These meetings, facilitated by San Francisco Consul General of Ukraine, Dmytro Kushneruk, provided a stark portrait of the incredible toll these landmines exact on innocent young lives.

The goal of the campaign is to raise global awareness and support for efforts to eradicate landmines and other explosive remnants of war, both in Ukraine, and across the world.

Donate to Roots of Peace Stocking campaign, as we fight to create a world in which children may move through their homelands without fear of landmines, UXO or Cluster Munitions.