Run 35 – Brass Band Aid – March 2025
I am often asked why we continue to go regularly in vans less than 3.5t – the answer to that will be seen very clearly as the story of this run unfolds. It’s all about our agility to deliver directly to the point of need in a timely manner.
For this run, we were transporting electric wheelchairs on behalf of East Sussex for Ukraine and the wonderful Valentyna and Oksana. The chairs were prepared, and in one case, modified by Mark and the team at Active Days Mobility in Bexhill. Mark also provided additional chairs at cost – a true supporter of Ukraine! 3 of the chairs already had designated recipients at military hospitals in the Lviv area.
Prior to this, we also visited our good friend Bob Lewis at Medi Tech Trust in Hailsham – Bob and the team are big supporters both of ourselves and the East Sussex for Ukraine team.
Whilst there, Andy was pleased to pass on a Certificate of Appreciation to Medi Tech from our charity partner in Odesa, “I Will Help”:
Together with all of the other aid from Brass Band Aid supporters, the van was well and truly full!
For this run, we had to seek external funding to cover diesel and ferry costs – huge thanks to all who donated via our Just Giving page and a special thanks to The Sussex Symphony Orchestra for programming Andy’s arrangement of “Plyva Kacha” and raising a massive £228.55 in the collection from audience and players.
The only thing left to do was to get down to Dover! Andy was once again joined by Tony Line for this run.
Whilst onboard the ferry, we umped into another legend of the aid world: Harrison Silver. Harrison is non stop in delivering aid to Ukraine and great to finally meet him.
We chose a route via Brussels for a change which also took us in the direction of Köln – that bought a smile to Andy’s face as we saw the spires of the Dom in the distance! (He lived near there and was a member of Cologne Concert Brass a few years ago!).
We made great time and arrived at the border:
It was a fairly quick crossing for a change – we were able to confirm our delivery time at the Lviv Hospital for the morning as planned.
This visit was a perfect example of why we do what we do – we got to meet the recipient, Sergeiy, on the day he was being discharged home so the timing was perfect! It wasn’t long before he was going up and down the corridor despite his only usable arm still being in plaster! The smile on his face when he saw the chair was the greatest reward for us.
Whilst we were there, we also visited another ward where we met a number of soldiers. All of them gave their permission for us to use their photographs to help educate the world on the results of Russian aggression. The following video and pictures are very explicit in the extent of the injuries these guys will have to cope with for the rest of their lives. One of them did speak a little English – his name was Max and he told us about his plans to become a full time rapper! He played us one of his tracks and whilst I don’t speak Ukrainian, it sounded pretty good to me!
This next one amazed us with how he was using a stylus in his mouth to type on his cellphone!
We were fortunate that Valentyna was herself in the country visiting her daughter and son-in-law in Vinnitsya. After a lovely meal, we were taken to a local hotel for the night where we had a well earned rest. Thank you Valentyna for providing that for us.
Our original plan was to go next to our friend Taras the Priest – unfortunately, he was in a training area with his unit but we did send some parcels of aid for the hospital he supports via the Nova Poshta service. These contained t-shirts, underwear and toiletry items for the people who arrive on the ward with only what they are wearing.
Our next stop was Kropyvnytskyi where we met up with another good friend, Anton. He found us a cheap apartment to use for 3 nights as our usual hotel is no longer a safe place to stay. Our thanks as always for his kind hospitality – a visit to Krop always has a night out with Anton!
Our first visit was to a regular destination: The Orphanage. Huge thanks to Dee Johnson, Brass Band Aid supporters and Medi Tech Trust for the donations of nappies and incontinence pads – with 90% of the people there needing such items, it’s a recurring visit for us.
This included a lovely hand knitted jumper made by Dee Johnson.
After a good nights sleep, we then took a day trip down to Zaporizhzhia to visit Nataly and the Himars Charity.
Nataly and her team are excellent at getting aid to the end user very quickly and these photos were taken before we even left the country!
– A large farm – pigs, chickens, ducks, a vegetable garden… how to leave all this? At the beginning of the war, they hid in basements shelter… Now they have long been accustomed to it and continue to work even during constant shelling… Almost 2 hundred civilians continue to live almost on the front line.. Among them are many children of different ages… People help each other overcome difficulties, support each other morally…
We brought necessary household items, hygiene, clothes, bedding…
We believe that this terrible war will end and people will return to a peaceful life 🙏
We then return to Krop for the night before meeting Anton and the Air Defence commander for breakfast at the cafe of another member of the team, Mr Gogol. (My apologies if that’s spelt wrong!). Best coffee and sandwiches in the city! Thanks to Tony Line, we had another 13 of the hard plastic mats that will help to make it easier for them to get around their location in the forest.
It was then a relatively short drive (by our standards!) down to Odesa to deliver to the “I Will Help” charity. Our load was 99% medical items which will be distributed to hospitals once they have sorted through it all! Huge thanks as always to Medi Tech Trust and Dee Johnson.
We were also able to hand over £175 which we raised by selling patches on their behalf.
The next day, we joined them at their HQ for a distribution to refugees – whilst this wasn’t aid we had brought with us, we were able to give a set of crutches to one lady for her son. We hope to have video of her from the team shortly.
Whilst we often moan about the paperwork we have to have in place, it’s even worse for this kind of charity where they have to account for everything going out to individuals. This short video talks about that process in more detail:
Before leaving their HQ, it was time for a final; video with the whole team:
After a final night in Odesa, it was time to start the long journey home. A relatively easy run up to the border that was marked only by Tony getting stopped for speeding! However, after they made a few calls, we were able to proceed without a ticket this time!
Arriving at the border, it was time for another game of Border Bingo! It was looking like a potentially quick crossing as there was no queue to get in to the border area. It didn’t last though as the Polish side were incredibly slow this time.
We had hoped to meet up with Damon Warren and his convoy but couldn’t make that work so it it was on to Calais and a 1am sailing back home. Another hugely successful run has been completed!
