Run 12 – December 2022 January 2023
Run no.11 started with the collection of aid from our friends at Help Ukraine BAMK UK in Milton Keynes and personal donations from other benefactors. What made this trip special was the kind donation of a van which was to be taken to Zaporizhzhia where it is now being used as an ambulance by the local volunteer medics. Our thanks to Derek Edwards and Andy Wooler who funded the purchase of the van and its transportation and to James Kaprini, who does a great job co-ordinating aid distribution in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Here, we met Ivan and some of his team – you can tell from this video how much this means to them:
Since we left, Zaporizhzhia is under constant bombardment – the van is already saving lives.
Our next stop was Dnipro where we delivered Christmas presents to the family of a lady that Mike took back to the UK a couple of trips ago. It seemed so normal when we were there but within days, a block of flats, similar to the one we visited, were ripped apart by Russian rockets. Sadly more innocent civilian lives lost.
Then it was on to Brovary, just outside Kyiv, which is the home of our wonderful charity partner “Future of Children of Ukraine”. Amongst the aid we had on board, were toys and presents for families who have had to flee their homes and who have nothing left. Marina, who runs the Charity, was able to sort out gifts for a number of children who came to the house on New Year’s Day – the traditional day for exchanging gifts in Ukraine. The joy on the faces of these children makes it all worth while.
We spent New Year’s eve in Bovary and listened to President Zelenski’s address to the nation.
Whilst we didn’t understand what he was saying, the emotion was clear to see. But it wasn’t to be a peaceful night – nor has it been since.
Before we left, we had 2 more deliveries to make. The first was a generator which will be used to recharge drones by soldiers on the front lines. The second was an opportunity for Andy to deliver some gifts to his co-workers – the company he works for has 15 people still in Ukraine.
Then it was time for the long drive back to Weeze in Germany. We are blessed to have volunteers based in Weeze who are long term friends of our founder. Their support is invaluable in supporting our work. (Our Treasurer, Annie, stayed with them whilst Mike and Andy were in Ukraine).
Now we plan for run 13!
