We caught up with an old friend today...

Last year, when we were working at the centre for internally displaced people (IDP) in Lviv at Stryiskyi Park, we met a doctor, who was, himself, an IDP from the badly damaged city of Mariupol, without work at that time. Ihor kindly offered to be our translator and really was invaluable to us. Much of our work with Homes for Ukraine, and our English lessons, would not have happened without his assistance.

Today, a year later, we caught up with Ihor. We remembered that time and the challenges of all the IDP's arriving in Lviv. They were hard, long days. 

Today, Ihor is once more working as a GP, taking a mobile medical unit to villages and centres. The need is still high.

The centre where we worked is still open, the conditions not having improved much, although the numbers are temporarily down. With the war intensifying in many areas, they believe that there will be another influx of IDPs arriving.
We met Ihor for a picnic lunch in Stryiskyi Park, surrounded by the sight of tulips, donated by a Dutch charity. A peaceful moment. 

It was good to catch up with this dear friend. People, who were strangers, and who, now, come to have a special meaning for us.

Many of our Ukrainian friends also commented on the coronation of King Charles today. They remain very grateful for all the support that the UK has given. Long may it continue.
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Third Christmas of the War.

Image
I remember when we first went to Ukraine, we thought we'd better hurry up and get over there to help before the war finished, and there'd be nothing for us to do. How naïve were we? The situation in Ukraine at present has got even worse, especially in the areas in close contact with the Russian forces, although with the constant Shahed and missile attacks nowhere is safe. Kherson has become particularly difficult, and delivering aid there is a direct threat to life. Any vehicle or person can be targeted by Russian small killer drones. This week, a vehicle that is used to deliver aid that we have sometimes used, was attacked and badly damaged beyond repair. Miraculously, the driver, a person I know survived but suffered injuries.  The occupants of a bus were not so fortunate. It was attacked, 3 people died and several more injured. It's really terrifying.  What's really sick is that the Russian's then post o...
Read more

The killing goes on.

Image
Time diminishes things. News cycles bring new, more pressing concerns. But the war here in Ukraine grinds on, with deaths a daily occurrence. The killing seems to have become more incideous and heartless.This weekend in Kherson, delivering aid, under the fairly constant sound of artillery and drone attacks, I heard and saw the inhumanity of this senseless war. There is now a real tangible fear about going out in your car in Kherson. Over the last few months, individual cars have been targeted by Russian drones. These carry small bombs or grenade type munitions. . A car is targeted. An initial bomb dropped. The man realises he's  being targeted and tries to drive away at high speed. He then stops suddenly, hoping to get away. Opens his door to run away, but about two metres away from the car a small bomb explodes. With the door open, nothing seems to happen, then as in slow motion, a man falls from the driver's seat onto the road. Dead. It...
Read more

Krakow to Lviv

Image
We left Krakow at 3am because we had heard that there have been up to 3 hour waits on the Poland-Ukraine border. The balance has changed to more people returning to Ukraine (to the relatively safe western Lviv region) than leaving Ukraine. As it happened, we drove through the fairly haphazard border controls with no hold up. The first thing we noticed on the Ukrainian side were miles (literally) of lorries lining the side of the highway, which was only 2 lanes so made for fairly scary driving. On the Polish side was an equally long line of parked cars, waiting to be sold. We also noticed more potholes on Ukrainian roads than even East Lancashire! The purpose of our visit to Ukraine is 2-fold: firstly, we drove our friend, Romana, home to Lviv (in her car) with her 4-year-old daughter, as she decided against coming to England in order to be with her husband and family. Secondly, w...
Read more