Ponderings....

And goodness did I have enough time to reflect on the aid run. I set of from Chernihiv at 07:30, arriving home in Lviv at 20:30. With good planning, I managed to get stuck in rush hour in both Kyiv and lviv.
First I was able to drop off more books that were kindly donated by a bookshop in Lviv. Thank you Valentina. Also some other items.... hopefully some pictures tomorrow. It was with real sadness that I left the school.

So an observation. On the roads there are VIPs. I can tell that they are VIPs by the fact that they drive at least at 100mph (160km/hour) Obviously they drive this fast because they are doing vital work for the Ukrainian war effort. They are generally expensive 4x4s, either Audi's, Mercedes or BMWs. They are happy to risk their own lives and that of others to further the cause. If they are not helping the Ukrainian cause, I can think of other word/words to describe them. I'm sure you can think of some words as well...The one I'm thinking of starts with a w........

Today we were able to connect a Pastor who works with refugees in a town about 200km east of Lviv, with an aid organisation here in Lviv. They are meeting on Wednesday for him to collect food aid.

Going back to thinking about Chernihiv, their experience of the war is so far removed from that of Lviv. There, as you go around the city, you see buildings destroyed or damaged. Whole communities whose world has changed forever. If, by some miracle, the houses are rebuilt, it will take many years for the psychological scars to heal, not forgetting the real physical ones. And then there are the children. Where do we even start there?
We would love to try and arrange a small summer play scheme for some children in Chernihiv during the summer holidays. So, as well as the aid runs, this may be a central piece of work for us. Hopefully we can start on that project in May. 
We will now keep any donations to fund this. I think we will be able to get premises free...just equipment we need to buy. Paper, crayons, paints etc, as well as some sporting equipment... badminton rackets, volleyballs, etc. We will see if other organisations can help us. 
Just to finish off, during the drive back there was torrential rain at times, but about 6pm the sun briefly came out. So did my thermos flask and the biscuits and a bit of piece by the side of a lake, which you can see in the first photo. The dog was also there, a stray with a really waggly tail. I was able to give it the last of the dog food that I'd bought with donations.
My final thought is how much I missed not having Fi with me on the aid run. I'm glad she's on the mend and will be with me on the next journey.
If you are able to help please donate in the usual way:
1. Open PayPal and, when asked for name of payee or email, enter trawden4ukraine@hotmail.com. 
Or, if you live in/near Trawden:
2. Use the collection box in Trawden community shop.


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