One Small Boy | Aylan Kurdi

A small boy.

A red top.

A pair of shorts.

Shoes still on.

Lying dead on a beach.

This image will never leave me, and it never should.

It is heartbreaking and horrifying and tears stream down my face when I think of the helpless pose, the perfection of that little boy, his whole life snatched cruelly, mercilessly away from him.

This image needs to drive change across the world.

The crisis in Syria cannot be solved by any one person but each one of us must do what we can.

The people who are fleeing for their lives, who are risking everything, need us, they need to know that the world stands with them, they need to know that they will not be turned away, that there is hope.

We need to open our borders, our homes and our hearts.

We can never say we didn't know. We know, we must act.

Aylan Kurdi's death cannot be in vain, it cannot be forgotten.

Ways you can help.

1. Sign the petition to ask the Irish Government to do more to help. Just click here.  For anyone in the UK you can sign a similiar petition here. 
2. There are numerous charities helping the refugees crossing the Mediterranean sea. Please, please donate even a few euro to Medecine Sans Frontieres,Amnesty International, orTrocaire.
3. Alternatively, if you’d like to be part of a very worthy organised event the Irish Parenting Bloggers have organised a virtual coffee (or tea!) morning – check out and ‘like’ the Facebook Event page here  –  to help raise much needed funds for the Ireland Calais Refugee Solidarity Campaign. On Friday, September 11 just pour yourself a cuppa; go tohttp://www.irelandcalaisfund.ml/and make a donation to the fund (we suggest €5 per person but please give what you can) and upload a screenshot of your donation plus a pic of yourself enjoying your cuppa to your Facebook page or other social media channels and tell your followers all about it.  Then just link to this event to encourage your friends and family to take part too.

Members of The Irish Parenting Bloggers have come together in a blog-hop to share their thoughts on the current crisis and to let people know what they can do to help. Click on the blue button below to read our posts and please feel free to spread the word by sharing on social media platforms using the hashtag #ReadFeelAct.