Aid Run 6, Part 1

We were too tired, physically and mentally, to do the blog yesterday. So this is a joint effort - part 1 of the journey yesterday.

We are in a small convoy with two Polish vans, delivering aid to areas in Mykolaiv and Kherson that have recently been liberated. The Russians have left total destruction in some places. They have also left behind countless mines and trip wires, which are still causing deaths.

Many places have no running water, the Russians having blown up main water pipes. In fact, we stayed in a family's home last night, with the 3 Polish van drivers, on the fifth floor of an apartment block. The whole area has not had drinking water for 5 months. Up to 1 month ago there was salt water from the nearby estuary for flushing xthe toilet, etc, but then the Russians mined those pipes. Now, people have no running water. We only spent one night there and experienced how difficult it was....imagine months.

The destination of the aid in our van was an almost completely destroyed village, south of Mykolaiv. We were taken to the drop-off point, a 40 minutes drive down an unmade road, by yet another amazingly brave Ukrainian woman. S is a volunteer, mostly supporting the army. She is usually on the road 24/7. The main picture is of S with her bullet proof vest.

Most of the aid was transported to the village by a lovely young soldier whose vehicle was a repurposed Mitsubishi 2000 (an important detail, according to Bob), converted into an armour-plated vehicle.

The vehicle was stacked impossibly high with boxes of aid. The rest was squeezed into S's car. The final box was the trauma teddies, which S thought were amazing - so much so that she handed 2 of the teddies to 2 children who were passing. There are no children in this area who have not experienced the trauma of war.

It was an incongruous image - the armour-plated army vehicle with the teddies on the dashboard.

When we saw the soldier go off in his van, followed by S in her ancient, battered car, the dust flying behind them, I had an irrational feeling of wanting to know that he'll be safe. And, of course, he won't be safe and I won't know what happens to him. I just hope that he survives this war.

Mykolaiv came as a bit of a shock to us. The area is in desperate need of aid.

The aid on this run was really good,  meeting the direct needs of people receiving it. 

And, in a change of plan, we are not returning to Lviv now, but going to Kyiv to buy 20 more stoves. They will then be moved to where they are needed. The first snow has arrived in Ukraine so the situation can only get more challenging. Many areas have no, or very interupted, electrical supply. 

Thinking back about yesterday was how massive are the challenges that ordinary people have to face. As if life isn't hard enough without war. 

And today there was another mass shelling of the country. Sometimes, we can make no sense of it all. Maybe it has no sense, except in the minds of Putin and his supporters, who are trying to destroy an independent, brave country. Ànd, for all its flaws here, it's worth the fight.

And this requires people back in England, Europe,  America and all the other countries that have helped, to continue to support people here. Your contributions are much appreciated and make a difference. For example, now that the weather has suddenly turned very cold, we saw many wood-burning stoves being used at checkpoints. They're also used by soldiers in their trenches and by civilians in community areas, such as the one we donated (with funds raised) to the aid distribution centre in Letychiv.

If you can help, please donate in the usual way

1. Open PayPal and, when asked for name of payee or email, enter trawden4ukraine@hotmail.com. 

2. Use the collection box in Trawden community shop. 

Thank you.