A 12-YEAR-OLD was so moved by the image of a drowned Syrian boy drowned that he has raised hundreds of pounds for child refugees with his own song.
Jack Critchlow, from Borrowby near Thirsk, composed the poignant music after seeing the image of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi who died fleeing with his family from Syria.
His dad, Richard Critchlow, said they had a brief discussion about the photograph, but he thought no more about it until Jack played his song at home on Monday, September 7.
“He emerged from his room and said he had written that song. He played it and I thought, “where did that come from?!"
“I recorded it on my phone and put it on my Facebook page and it went nuts with people saying how lovely it was.”
Within 24 hours it had been seen by almost 2,500 people, prompting Jack to ask to record the song properly in order to raise funds for others caught up in the refugee crisis.
After shooting a video in Borrowby Village Hall with his parents, they posted the song on a JustGiving page to raise funds for Save the Children's Syria Crisis Appeal.
It is just over a week since Jack finished writing his song, but already it has raised £770 and received 5,000 views via social media.
The young performer has also been invited to perform the song as his school assembly at Yarm School, where he received a music scholarship to attend.
“He’s one of life’s thinkers, but it was a real surprise to me how much he understood as well, there was a lot of understanding and empathy in the song,” said Richard.
“We thought it would be great if he raised £100, but the appeal raised that by the time he got to school the next morning. He’s very surprised by the response, but he’s absolutely delighted. He knows £100 will feed a family for one month.”
Jack first found the confidence to start performing music after taking part in talent shows at his former school, Knayton CE Primary School.
It is the first song the 12-year-old has written and performed publicly, but Jack is already making a name for himself on the local music circuit as an accomplished performer.
This year he performed his own set at Cowtonbury Rocking on the Roof music festival in East Cowton and at Glastonbilly musical festival in Ripon.
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