As the war in Ukraine approaches its second anniversary, Vans Without Borders remains committed to doing everything in our power to support the most vulnerable in Ukraine, with a particular focus on the frontline areas in the conflict.
Our team returns to Ukraine in February for a large month-long aid operation and we need your help to ensure that we have sufficient funding to bring supplies to the frontline areas. The more funds we raise, the more generous we can be with the amount of aid we give to each individual in need.
Thanks to your support, we have significantly grown since our inception and have in the last six months sent three articulated lorries to Ukraine (52 pallets at a time), alongside our regular humanitarian trips. This process has streamlined our aid routes and we have collaborated with other organisations to ensure that we have a continuous supply of aid flowing into Ukraine, with our last truck arriving just after Christmas 2023, and our next one planned for in February. Each truck costs between £3,500-£4,000 depending on where we send it in Ukraine, and allows us to send impressive volumes of essential items ranging from hospital beds and bandages for hospitals to laptops for schools that support children with learning disabilities.
While this work is essential to supporting the larger infrastructure in Ukraine such as hospitals and orphanages, the Ukrainian rules surrounding importing aid from Britain have now changed. Instead of declaring at the border the aid is to be distributed to villages on the frontline, it now can only go to a registered organisation, such as an Ukrainian charity, local administration, school or hospital. All aid now has to be logged in an electronic system and has to be signed for when delivered.
Individuals can receive aid from Ukrainian charities, but they have to fill out paperwork to say they have received it, alongside a photo of their passport. While this is positive in terms of stamping out corruption surrounding aid, it is problematic when delivering on the frontline. We often support rural villages where there are 60-100 residents and it is impractical to have them fill out paperwork. This is largely due to the danger of remaining in the area with large humanitarian vehicles - that could be spotted by the Russians - for an extended period, both for our team and the residents. Similarly, at our other aid drops in cities under constant bombardments like Kharkiv or Chernigov, we have hundreds if not over a thousand people turn up to receive aid from us during one session, and it is again impractical to ask them to fill in the paperwork.
We do however have a solution. While we will continue collecting and shipping aid to support larger organisations, we will use more of our budget to purchase supplies in Ukraine, which we legally do not have to declare and can distribute at our discretion. Although, this of course does cost more than simply handing out clothing or supplies donated for free in Britain to those in war hotspots in Ukraine.
We hope that you can support us in raising additional funds for our February mission, so we can overcome the challenges created by the new rules surrounding humanitarian aid and continue to make a real difference to those in need across the Ukrainian frontline.
We will persevere to ensure that no one in Ukraine is forgotten as the rules change, and continue to pioneer aid routes into areas that other organisations are unable to operate in.
Thank you for your support.