With the group Heroes Dorset, three vans, each with two drivers, left the UK on Sunday, March 2nd, and made a smooth journey to Ukraine, reports Graham, a NFFU Core Team volunteer who joined the trip and reported back. "Before crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border on Tuesday, March 5th, we stopped at Help Ukraine Center (HUC) in Chelm to visit Eugenia and Viktoria, both of whom were doing well. Once over the border, our vans were unloaded at Caritas in Sokal, where Marjana had everything perfectly organised as usual.

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On Wednesday, March 6th, we made a short trip to Sheptytskyi (Chervonograd) to meet Maria at AKCF. She showed us an incredibly impressive and beautifully decorated church. After spending another night in Sokal, we headed east towards Kyiv. On the outskirts of Kyiv, we delivered a hospital bed and care package, sourced in collaboration with SHAP in Swindon, at the request of a Ringwood pastor. He had been hosting a young Ukrainian couple, and the woman had sought help for her bed-bound grandmother. The delivery was tricky, but successful. In Kyiv, we met a friend from a previous trip who invited us to a charity gig, where 7,000 Euros were raised for injured soldiers. It was a fun event, despite a couple of air raid warnings. Next, we traveled to Dnipro and P'yatykhatky, where we visited the group "Give Good(ness)" supported by New Forest for Ukraine, arriving on Friday, March 7th.

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"It was an incredible trip, full of heartwarming encounters with old friends and meeting new NGOs for the first time"

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On Saturday, March 8th, while the Hero's team stayed in P'yatykhatky, I drove one of the vans to Kharkiv to meet Yuliya from the "Dreams Together" group and visit another potential partner organization, "Little Hearts". This group, supported by Wendy Warrington, currently receives aid via Sheptytskyi, but formalizing them as a direct group would reduce delivery time. On Sunday, March 9th, I visited "Through The War," a care home for 50 residents and 20 staff, located in former factory worker housing in Kharkiv. The facilities were 'cozy' with three residents per room, and the kitchen is only the size of a standard bedroom.

 

After this, I made the four-hour journey back to P'yatykhatky to rejoin the main group. By Monday, March 10th, we started our return journey. In Kropyvnytskyi, about 1.5 hours west of P'yatykhatky, we visited the "Machok" group, which prepares and repairs vehicles for the defence forces. New Forest for Ukraine had previously delivered vehicle parts to them, and we had met them the year before. The two sisters running this group showed us around their facilities before we continued westward and spent the night in Uman.

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On Tuesday, March 11th, shortly after leaving Uman, the blue van broke down due to a failed crankshaft pulley, which damaged the drive belt. This happened at 7:00 am. I reached out to Yulia from Machok, who sent a local volunteer to meet us. Sergey contacted a nearby garage, and a mechanic quickly got us back on track. The necessary parts were sourced, and we were back on the road by 11:00 am. Machok kindly covered the cost, and we arrived back in Sokal (Caritas) by 7:00 pm. On Wednesday, March 12th, we began our journey back to the UK, making stops in Poland and Germany, and finally arrived home late on Friday, March 14th".

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Graham acts as Ukraine Liaison for NFFU and commented; "It was an incredible trip, full of heartwarming encounters with old friends and meeting new NGOs for the first time. Although driving aid vans across such a distance is less efficient than delivering by truck, the human connections and information gained are invaluable. We met many inspiring individuals who are deeply committed to supporting their country and helping those affected by the war"

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