Art and aid

This morning we had the privilege of being invited to look around the art college opposite our apartment. This came about because Bob went over for a 'nosey' and managed to speak to the artist in residence.
The students were finishing off work for their diplomas, in all media - ceramic, stained glass, metalwork and paint - and we were able to see how they produced their work and what it means. For example, this wonderful piece portrays birds - to me they look like storks - symbols of hope for the future, which the students said ran throughout their work.

There was a lot of symbolism around Ukrainian themes, such as women being connected to 'mother earth.'
There was also a significant war theme. Some of it was very subtle, e.g. a painting that looks like a pastoral scene depicting 2 women in floral dresses, against a background of leaves. You have to look closely to see that they are actually making a camouflage net for the army, as we saw being made at a volunteer hub in Kherson...


There was also a practical element to this wonderful experience - we are trying to recruit a few young volunteers to do some basic art work with children in the UNICEF tent in Odesa. We figure that art, however basic, can be a way of processing trauma for children who have come from bombed, destroyed communities in this region.

The rest of the day was spent trying to fill the van for another aid run tomorrow. As far as possible, we try to take aid that is already available and maybe 'stuck' in a warehouse. When, occasionally, this is not possible, as today, we use our donations. We had saved up donations from Austria and England for just this event, and so we were able to fill the van with items that have been specifically requested - cleaning products and food, including sugar, cocoa, long life milk and some sweets for children. We also bought 10 large bags of dried dog food. 
Bob can be seen packing bags of flour into a children's trolley, which was due to us having the wrong kind of flour. Somehow, this led to a generous donation of flour from the manager of the wholesale supermarket, for which we were very grateful...

We also bought 100 x 5 litre bottles of drinking water. This is vital in the area affected by flooding due to the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.

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