A useful day in Stryiskyi Park

Sometimes we think we are going to have a fairly quiet day but it turns out not to be. We had arranged to meet new contacts from a Polish aid organisation that we hope to work with: they have the vans; we can drive them. We had a loose arrangement to meet them from 12pm onwards, depending on the border crossing, etc; however, one of their vans broke down so it turned out to be late afternoon.

In the meantime, we obtained a new translator and we went to the refugee centre to meet with V, the 76 year old who speaks perfect English, who had been waiting for passports for her and her daughter to apply for UK visas. The passports have arrived but the daughter, who has a heart condition and long COVID, has been told that she can't fly. They were considering going to the Czech Republic, therefore, which we spent some time convincing them was not a good option. MAD volunteers drive Ukrainian families who are unable to fly to the UK, for various reasons, e.g. they have pets, fairly regularly.

We finally met with two men with vans and discussed how we will help one another. It was a meeting outside, under autumnal trees in the park. No zoom meeting, no office, no agenda, just building a relationship. The outcome is that Bob and I will go to Krakow on Friday and, on Saturday, will drive back to Lviv with humanitarian aid, mostly food, which is destined for areas in Ukraine where it is needed most.

At the very beginning of the day, as we passed by the military church in Lviv, we had a stark reminder of the reality of war. Another funeral, another young man (20), another inconsolable mother. Will all the gains that Ukraine has made in recent days be worth the death of her son?

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