Help our Artistic Director Rachael Savage raise £700 to support the people of Kherson, Ukraine, who need food and medicine.
In 1998, I toured Ukraine in a co-production. I had the pleasure of working with Ukrainian people who worked in the creative industries, and we rehearsed and toured in the UK before our Ukraine leg of the tour to Kiev, Odessa and Kherson. It's an experience I’ll never forget. Being in a country that had not long been given its independence, to touring in a bus that had holes in the floor and you could watch the road below, to using the toilets at the airport that had long queues but no doors on them. It’s a country that has never known wealth - its wealth is in the hearts of its people.
I discovered in 1998 that the people of Ukraine are survivors, they're determined and loving. Now the world knows this.
But in February 2022 the city of Kherson was stormed by 21,000 Russian troops. It fell under a targeted Russian attack. It didn't stand a chance. We have seen the people of Kherson demonstrating against the Russian occupation. Now they are being starved into submission. And yet there is a Ukrainian effort now to retake Kherson.
Each week since the invasion I've been writing to my Ukrainian friends - I can't give their names because this could endanger them - and I've been asking them how I can help. I've offered them my home, but they are won't leave Kherson, they can't, they have old, frail parents who can't travel. The men, of course, are not allowed to leave.
Our conversations have been open, honest, frank and full of their bravery. And no help was sought until this June, when finally they asked for help. They have no money for food - a simple request. And so after much security checking and so many tests, I've been sending money and it’s got through to them.
So, I’m running a crowdfunding campaign; my friends in Kherson will disseminate the money to those most in need. It will be spent on food and medicine. It won’t be spent on arms. It will be spent on survival. Survival of my friends whose one constant message has been "Thank you for not forgetting about us." It's going to be a tough winter for all of us, but not as tough as for those in Kherson. A fiver will make a difference. Please donate whatever you can afford. Thank you. And a massive thank you from my friends in Ukraine.
This project successfully funded on 25th October 2022