Schoolboys cycle distance from Manchester to Palestine for children in war zone

A group of primary school children is cycling the distance from Manchester to Palestine to raise money for “any innocent child” affected by the Israel-Hamas war.

The boys, aged nine and 10, are cycling a virtual 2,400 miles (3,862km) from their homes in Manchester to their friends’ house in the Hebron Valley, raising money to send toys, clothes, nappies, milk powder and medical aid to children in the region.

They have clocked up nearly 700 miles (1,127km) so far and hope to complete the venture by Easter. They have already raised more than £700, beating their original target of £500.

They were inspired to take on the challenge by nine-year-old Liam Stewart, who is part of the group and who “just wants to help the children”, his mother, Gemma Stewart, 41, told the PA news agency.

“In Liam’s words, the aid is going to any innocent child affected,” Ms Stewart said.

Liam Stewart (in yellow) had the idea to cycle the virtual distance to raise funds for ‘any innocent child’ affected by the war in the Middle East (Gemma Stewart/PA)

“He says ‘We’re all part of the world; we’re all different but we’re all the same’.

“For a nine-year-old, the words that he comes out with sometimes and the attitude that he’s got to everything around him is just incredible.

“He just wants to help and he says it’s so unfair that there are children involved.”

The boys are using exercise bikes to clock up the miles, as well as cycling to school where possible, and going out on bike rides with their fathers when the weather allows.

Ms Stewart added: “They’re all at primary school together, they’re all in the same class and they’re all such a lovely, lovely bunch of lads.

Some of the boys during a bike ride for the challenge (Gemma Stewart/PA)

“Liam is a really bright lad, he’s really empathetic and he takes things to heart – he’s only nine and to have this way about him, we’re so proud of him, and he’s very proud of his friends.

“All of them have got this way about them where they want to do stuff for other people.”

The mother-of-two said her son got “very upset” at the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict because “we have friends from Palestine and he wanted to do something to help the children”.

“He initially wanted to do the challenge before Christmas to send things over then because he has lots of presents at Christmas and nice family times,” she said.

“But Liam was really poorly before Christmas and he felt like he was really letting them down, but we started it up again afterwards.”

The boys have raised more than £700 so far (Gemma Stewart/PA)

Liam’s fundraising ventures were first prompted by the war in Ukraine, where he came up with the idea to go without any electricity for 24 hours and get others to sponsor him and his friends – which raised more than £1,000.

His mother said: “He went to school the next day and told his friends it was what he wanted to do and there were six of them that camped out without any electricity – they wouldn’t even use the toilet light.

“It was hilarious at one point because if you think of six boys with no electricity, they did everything – rugby tackling, football, wrestling.”

Ms Stewart said the money allowed two of their friends – a mother and son who are Ukrainian refugees – to visit the region to see their family, as well as to purchase equipment for injured soldiers in Ukraine.

To find out more and to support the fundraiser, visit the group’s JustGiving page at: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Liam-Stewart-helpingthoseinneed