In January 2024, my wife Oksana, three friends and I travelled to Ternopil, Ukraine, to volunteer at a vocational college supporting children who had been displaced or orphaned by the ongoing war.
We went there hoping to make a small difference in their lives. We brought them clothes and shoes, sanitary products, power banks and more. We taught them some English, we played games, we held quizzes, we taught them how to make apple crumble, we sang and played cards together in the bomb shelter, we laughed and at times, cried together, but the kindness, warmth and love these young people showed us gave us far more than we could ever have given them.
I came home feeling that I needed to do more. This challenge is my way of trying to put that right.
Arriving in Ternopil
The college has around 400 students, aged between 12 and 18. Because of the war, at least 80 of those young people are either displaced from their homes or have lost their parents. They live at the college.
Before the war, the college had students coming from countries including Germany and the Baltic states, who paid to study there. That income helped support the college.
The war changed everything.
That funding disappeared, and the college receives very little financial support from the Ukrainian government. The teachers themselves receive only small salaries, yet from those salaries they help feed and look after the displaced and orphaned students.
I have never seen teachers care for their students in the way these people do.
A week I will never forget
During our week at the college, I taught English, played games with the students and hosted quizzes.
They were incredibly grateful that we had come to see them.
They put on a show for us. We sang songs together. We played cards together in the bomb shelters.
These are young people whose lives have been turned upside down by a war they did not choose.
And yet they laughed. They played. They studied. They made plans for their futures.
Since returning home, Oksana and I have continued to teach some English to the students over Teams.
I’ve wanted to go back many times. But when I do return, I want to go back having done something that can make a real difference.
When we left Ternopil, I felt that they had given us far more than we had given them.
They don’t see it that way.
These young people are preparing for their country’s future
The college isn’t simply providing traditional education.
The students are learning practical skills and trades that will give them a future and, one day, help rebuild their country.
They study subjects including hairdressing and beauty, plastering and construction, vehicle mechanics and other vocational skills, alongside their normal studies.
These are skills Ukraine will desperately need when the war is over.
When I met these young people, I couldn’t help thinking about what they could achieve if they were simply given the opportunity.
They deserve that opportunity. They deserve to know that people outside Ukraine care about what happens to them.
And they deserve hope for the future.
So why cycle all 92?
I could simply make a donation to the college. But I want to do something that can reach far more people.
Cycling to all 92 football league clubs gives me a challenge big enough to get people talking, following the journey and, hopefully, supporting these young people.
I want every mile to have a purpose.
My target is to raise at least £20,000 for the college.
I deliberately say at least.
If I’m going to spend thousands of pounds of my own money completing this challenge, I want the amount raised for the college to be many times greater.
I want Cycling the 92 to make a genuinely meaningful difference.
Where will the money go?
This isn’t money going into a large charity organisation where I don’t know exactly what happens to it.
I’ve been there. I’ve met the teachers and students. I’ve taught them, sat with them in their bomb shelters and seen the situation for myself.
When I return to the college, I’ll sit down with them and agree where the money can make the greatest difference.
We have already discussed several possibilities, including restoring their outdoor sports facilities, as well as equipment and other practical needs for the students.
Whatever is ultimately agreed, I want supporters to be able to see exactly where the money goes and what their donations have achieved.
The people there are open and honest with us, and I want to keep it that way.
If I raise more than £20,000, I’ll also look for other worthwhile causes while I’m in Ukraine — particularly organisations and projects helping children whose lives have been affected by the war.
Not a penny of your donation will pay for my challenge
None of the money raised for the college will be used to pay for my cycling challenge.
The accommodation, food, train travel and other costs of completing Cycling the 92 will be paid for by me.
If I later provide a separate way for people to help with the costs of the challenge itself, it will be kept completely separate from the main fundraiser.
And none of the money raised through this challenge will go to Oksana’s family in Ukraine. We support her family ourselves.
Every pound donated to the main fundraiser will go towards helping the college and the young people there.
I know where your money is going
There are countless worthy causes connected to the war in Ukraine. I chose this one because I know these people.
I’ve looked them in the eyes. I’ve spent time with them. I’ve seen the conditions they are living and working in, and I’ve seen how determined the teachers are to give these young people an education and a future.
When the war eventually ends, Ukraine will need people with every kind of skill — doctors, teachers and engineers, but also mechanics, electricians, builders, hairdressers, hospitality workers and many more.
The young people at this college are learning those skills now. They are preparing themselves to rebuild their country.
I want to help them get there.
So, from Ternopil to the 92 football clubs…
I’m going to get on my bike.
I’ll ride from club to club.
I’ll probably get wet. I’ll probably get lost. I’ll definitely get tired.
And there will almost certainly be days when I wonder why on earth I decided to do it.
But every time that happens, I’ll think about the young people I met in Ternopil.
The students who played cards with us in bomb shelters. The teachers who give so much of themselves to their students. The young people who continue to learn and plan for their futures despite everything happening around them.
And I’ll remember why I’m doing it.
I’m Cycling the 92 for them.
My target: £20,000+
92 clubs. Thousands of miles. One purpose.
To give these young people hope for the future.