Journey...

I needed to get the aid car back to Krakow from Odesa, to be reunited with it's owner, an American volunteer J.

 I found out at the Polish border, the car was without a valid MOT. I just avoided getting fined, probably the only reason being, was that it was an aid vehicle. I hadn't realised that the Polish equivalent had run out a couple of weeks ago. The fine could have been £100.

I was able to use the journey to take two women, mother and daughter, to Lviv .They had recently been evacuated from a village, under constant Russian bombardment. I'm always amazed at the bravery of people who do this evacuation work. Dangerous doesn't begin to describe it. To say that the woman were traumatised would be an understatement. When they spoke, it was practically in whispers to one another. Their only possessions three suitcases. They were going to stay with family in Lviv. To lose practically everything is unimaginable.

Unlikely to see home again. Donations covered some of the expenses of the cost for this journey.

The distance travelled , is as ever  long, but very beautiful. One passes through amazing countryside. And the towns are interesting as well. And some quite quirky. We stopped at Khemelnytskyi for a night, where they do an interesting take on benches.

 

I dropped the woman off at the station in Lviv. It was the most subdued of parting. Another sadness to add to the many. 

I arrived in Krakow and handed the car over. It was nice to catch up with the Americans, a father and son combination J and B. They do really good work in Ukraine. In the morning we got the car's MOT. We were also able, at the last minute, to take a new volunteer to Ukraine with us.There are still people arriving here to help which is encouraging.

Today the return trip to Odesa. I'm sharing the train compartment with a very interesting family. Mother and two children. We communicated in German, the mother a German teacher in Odesa. The two boys 21 and 17 are both very keen dancers and had been on an intensive one week course. They showed me videos of their dancing. I'm no expert but think they'll go far.

I wish I  could describe how amazing it is travelling on the overnight train to Odesa. In a country at war the train set off on time. I would bet anything that it will arrive on time. A journey of more than 1000 kilometres.

Work in Odesa will carry on as usual. I'll work in the kitchen, give English lessons and organise aid runs to Odesa and the orphanage we support.

The work goes on, as does the war. But what a week it's been for Ukraine. Russia invaded. Who'd ever have thought.