Warm

Are you feeling the cold, as we move through the winter?

A cause which has become uncomfortably close to home for me over the past few months is the dire outlook for child refugees from the Syrian conflict. Whatever your view of that conflict, it is (as always) no fault of the children who are nevertheless the ones who suffer most of all.

And now, winter storms are increasing their problems. A lot of people think that Syria and Turkey are hot; they're not, at this time of year. Syrian and Turkish winters, particularly in the border regions where these children are tying to survive, are always grim … and this one is the worst for ten years.

I don't often ask readers to give money, but this time I am. The amounts to make a real difference are small, and one off; I'm not asking you to make an open ended commitment. Roughly $5, €4 or £3 will buy a blanket to help keep a child warm.

If you're in Britain, it's dead easy: send a text message from your phone to 70099, containing just the one word WARM. The three pounds will be added to your bill or deducted from your credit, as the case may be. If you feel like sending two or more such messages, so much the better … but even one will give you the warm feeling of knowing that you have helped to keep one displaced child alive.

If you're not it Britain, do a quick search for your local equivalent.