The sadness of endings....

Again, this is a catch-up of our work yesterday. We were both extremely tired after arriving home and the blog was a step too far. The night before had not been peaceful, with a lot of shelling by both sides. 

I wanted just to add a photo of the distribution of the fruit and veg...

 Yesterday was a really positive day again. We were able to drop off the household products that we bought, which were very much appreciated. It seems such a little thing, but makes a difference.

The reality of the situation, though, was very hard. When we delivered the aid it was clear that the community organiser, Anastasiia, had not slept all night. From her apartment block she could see the fires in nearby apartments, which had been shelled overnight, with fires breaking out, many windows broken and cars destroyed. She looked as if she had no strength left. But, by the afternoon, the aid we had taken had been distributed to families. I can't begin to imagine the resilience that many people have in the face of the everyday terror. 

But, in many ways, the day belonged to the children in the UNICEF centres - we were able to visit all three. It was such fun to share songs with the children and engage in other activities....For a short while the war might be forgotten.

At one of the centres it was very emotional as, one by one, the children brought envelopes to us that they had decorated, themselves, with little gifts, cards and pictures inside, knowing that we would be leaving soon.

We send our heartfelt thanks to these children.

It's really not easy thinking about leaving. Even now we have difficulty in contemplating our departure.

The closeness of many here is wonderful. The leaving behind of the children is even harder.