OCTOBER - AN ‘INTERESTING’ JOURNEY...
Though clearing Customs through Europe to Ukraine was the quickest ever, delays in finding accommodation due to the GPS signal being down added hours to my journey. Otherwise the whole journey out was fairly uneventful, if you don’t count the drones going off in Kyiv and around Kharkiv, as well as the many burnt out fuel stations.
The morning after meeting up with Iain in Kharkiv we delivered the aid in the Kuga to our friends at the shelter, you can see by the huge pile of aid that came out of the Kuga and roof box just what we can fit into even a small vehicle. The minibus can hold 4-5 times that amount.
After which it was on to an Art College where we viewed an exhibition of students from around Kharkiv, took part in some block printing and learned more about the traditional art they also teach. Here we also met Brogan and Cal from the UK who moved here at the start of the war and have stayed to help the troops, medics, police and communities on the front line.
Later that evening we arrived at (young) Katerinas home and presented her and family with gifts for all their hard work and happily sat down to a very welcome meal.
Next morning we headed out to the hub near the front line. We talked to friends there and got an update on the vehicles we have supplied them so far. They say they are out doing their job every day and would have struggled without them. Because of the severe danger from drones we could only make a brief visit to Katerina to hand her a number of gifts from her friends, as we will not be back to Kharkiv before her birthday in December, when she will be 99 years old!
A patient that Iain drives to hospital back in Scotland heard of what we do and made a generous donation which we paid to the Ark Animal Rescue, a group which feed and tend for hundreds of animals each month, whilst finding them new homes. It was good to see how well the animals were treated.
Then we drove to the cathedral where I kept a promise to the mother of a brave young Ukrainian who had lived in Kirkcudbright after their evacuation, but had returned to fight and was sadly killed two days before his 20th birthday. I laid two flowers and lit a candle for him in memory and respect.
For me that was job done, but Iain was driving on to the Medical College to deliver the disability minibus and a mountain of aid, as well as the art materials for the students and children. I will leave it up to him to describe this part of the journey when he returns.
The next morning the Kuga was picked up to be driven to Sumy for their military medics. I got a lift to the railway station to start the first stage of my journey home. Whilst waiting on the platform I saw a drone shot out of the sky which was likely headed in my direction.
This is the part of the journey that really gets to me. You have too much time on your hands and you sit and contemplate all you have seen and heard. You think of all the friends you have made in Ukraine and you are now leaving them for the safety of peaceful Scotland, whilst they continue to live under such terrible and life threatening conditions, hoping they will be safe until the next time you visit.
The train journey was long and quiet, the rail bridge was still open in Kyiv and I arrived in Lviv about 16 hours later. The coach to the airport was just as pleasant and again Customs seemed faster than previously experienced. This journey had all gone so well and I thought something had to go wrong. Sure enough, my flight home was delayed two hours due to ‘air interference’, in other words Russian drones skirting the borders of Poland. Nevertheless, vehicles 30 & 31 were delivered intact with all the aid. As I keep saying, it is only a drop in the ocean compared to Ukraine’s needs - but not for those who received it.
Even before I got home I had heard of the horrendous bombings of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy and other cities. Iain who followed later tells me of blackouts and blast all night and all day. I guess you have to have been there and seen for yourself to understand how it is being used deliberately to wear the Ukrainian people down, though they all assure me they will never give in. Though at what cost?
