One year in Ukraine

On 20 May, 2022, we travelled to Ukraine for the first time with a young woman we got to know in the food tent in Krakow, who considered moving to England but decided to return to Lviv with her 4-year-old daughter. We stayed in Lviv for a 5-day exploratory visit, in which time we realised that we needed to move to Ukraine to be more useful as volunteers. 3 weeks later we did... never thinking that we would still be here a year later.

So much has happened, and so much has changed in what we do (and probably in us) in this time, it would be impossible to summarise. That will have to wait for the book version of our blogs that a few people have suggested we write. Any offers to edit - unpaid of course - are welcome!

We've said this before, but the generosity, kindness and bravery of the people we've met here have probably had the most impact on us.

So it seems appropriate that, on our way back to Lviv today, we called in to see Luda, who took us into her house in October last year, when the Polish van broke down on our first solo aid trip! 

Back then, we didn't know the roads in Ukraine and we let Google Maps take us on a detour to avoid a minor traffic jam on the main highway, onto a seemingly endless, very bumpy, unmade road, until the wheel fell off the van! It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere but, within a short time, we were invited into someone's home, where Luda was visiting a friend with her daughter and granddaughter, who was the only one who could speak English. 

We were fed, a breakdown truck was called to take our van away and Luda invited us back to her house in Letychiv for the night, where she fed us, too. She also introduced us to a pastor who helps internally displaced people, with whom we are still in contact and support when we can. Since this time, the beautiful lake in Letychiv has become one of our favourite stopping places.

All the people we met on this journey had very little but they wanted to give us whatever they had, which has remained the case on our journeys.

Back to today. We called on Luda on our way home to give her a little present that I was saving for someone special. I think it was made by one of the knitting ladies in the Penpercau community, Wales. We arrived so early that Luda was still in her dressing gown so no photos!

In fact, Luda seemed quite low - and sad. We discussed what life is like for her, over a year into Putin's war... it's hard - prices have gone up, whilst pensions remain very low. Many people only survive by growing their own vegetables and fruit, and often taking them to town to sell - but Luda said that if it doesn't rain soon, her crops will be very poor. Then there is the ongoing anxiety that is caused by the war - worry for families and that a bomb could land anywhere. It made me realise that it's not just the people on the frontline who suffer because of Putin's war.