Return from Odesa

Following our aid run to Mykolaiv and Kherson, we spent a day in Odesa, partly to relax, and also to gather some information to help us make a decision about our next move.

We went down to the seafront and were really surprised to see families on the beach where, 6 months ago, you weren't allowed on due to the danger of mines. After eating lunch beside the beach we even walked on the sand ourselves - with some trepidation but it had to be done. It was nice to see a bit of normality returning to this seaside city.

It was hard to believe, though, that a mere 140 miles east, in Kherson, civilians are being shelled on a daily basis. And this morning, just 2 days after we were in Kherson, Russian drone attacks killed 8 people in the main supermarket. The city's railway station was also targeted and the surrounding region, bringing the total killed to 16. This only served to confirmed our view that the level of need in the Kherson area is incredibly high.

This morning, before we left Odesa, we visited an aid distribution centre for internally displaced people, of which there are a large number in Odesa - from places like Kherson and Bakhmut. We bought some books for children when we visited a little over 6 months ago. Since this time, the centre, which was busy but fairly chaotic, has become far more organised and has support from a number of organisations, including UNICEF. There is also a large storage facility for aid.
All this has given us a lot of food for thought in relation to our next chapter, more of which in the coming days.


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