UKRAINE 1ST - MEDICINES, FOOD, CRITICAL SUPPORT

If this is your first visit to my site you may  look at the target sum and the significant amount already raised and think 'job done' he does not need any more funds but.....this site has now been running for over two years and the 'target raised' is not the same as 'funds remaining'. The reality is that my missions continue because the needs in Ukraine remain as this terrible conflict continues. The actual funds remaining will depend on what stage of the cycle I am at ... am I preparing for a new mission?  and so using all funds to buy aid or have I just returned? in which case funds are probably spent despite the figure you see in the total box. That is the case as I write today for I have just returned from my latest mission. For an actual update and regular news I encourage you to click on the 'Updates' tab. These tell you about the latest mission and allows you to scroll down to look at earlier missions and what has been achieved. 

I am humbled by the amount we have raised together over the last almost 3 years. This is in fact the second Crowdfunder and if we add the two together along with other donations made outside the platform then together we have raised over £150,000. This is a huge amount and one which I never ever imagined we would achieve. We have done so because so many of you are regular donors and have remained committed in the same way as the Ukrainians are to regaining their freedom. The advantage of donating to this fund is that you can be confident your money will get to where you intend it to go - to bring relief to those who need it in Ukraine. I am a volunteer, I don't take a cut and I don't have a staff or office costs to pay. I also work with trusted people in Ukraine so there is no risk of the aid you fund finding its way into a black market which sadly is a feature of most war economies  its well known that Ukraine also still has its own challenges with corruption. 

I am updating this home page in October 2024 having just returned from my lastest mission which I think is my 12th but I have lost count. The details of my last couple of weeks in Ukraine can be read at the update but in short I have managed once again to get to eastern Ukraine which is where aid is now mostly needed. My main focus this last couple of missions has been to get vehicles and medical equipment, powerbanks and generators as close to the front line as safety has allowed. Most of this equipment is to be used in medical stabilisation points and to evacuate both civilians and military personnel from the combat zones getting them quickly to medical stabilisation points and then onward to hospitals which may be many hours away. I also continue to support orphanages in western Ukraine where many displaced, injured, and disabled children are now being cared for. 

This winter is going to be an extremely difficult one for the Ukrainians. The Russian strategy of targeting the country's power sector has destroyed around  60% of the country's power generation. Constant missile strikes has affected the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power station and you will remember that the Kakhovka Dam was bombed. Ukrainian engineers continue to work quickly to restore power but there is a difficulty in sourcing replacement equipment and blackouts are now a regular feature throughout the country. These are likely to increase over the winter when demand is greater. That is why my recent focus has been on getting as many Ecoflows (in effect large battery packs) and generators to where they are needed to maintain vital equipment, especially in medical centres. 

People often ask me what it is like there - how are the people and what is the mood? Over the months and now years I have been going things have obviously changed. Western Ukraine is largely safe and if you went to Lviv you might reasonably feel that this is a thriving city with its cafe culture and lively nightlife. That is not to say that it is completely safe and if you read my latest update I record a recent missile strike which killed a family, but for Lviv this is now unusual. Kyiv experiences many more missile attacks but is actually one of the safest cities in Ukraine because it has the best air defence system to protect the capital city and centre of government. Yet understandably even in western Ukraine  there is an anxiety about the future and the war is still evident with important monuments and building scaffolded and boarded to provide protection against strikes, daily funeral corteges laying to rest those killed in the ongoing battles in the east, and increasing numbers of disabled former servicemen and women on the streets. Most families will have lost a loved one and I regularly speak to Ukrainians who tell me of the many photographs they now see adorned with flowers in the graveyard that are of relations, friends they went to school with or neighbours. 

But it is in eastern and southern Ukraine that the war rages. The front line around 1000 kms in length is unimaginably hard. Ukraine continues to be short of munitions. and are fighting a force which seems to have an endless supply of manpower which they are prepared to sacrifice, and many more weapons. The Ukrainians are exhausted and trench warfare has not moved on much from the scenes of WW1 other than the modern threat of drones and sophisticated missiles now used alongside the mines and artillery that would have been familiar to soldiers fighting in France. Then there are  are the villages and settlements that get caught up in a moving front line. Those civilians still living in a combat zone are mostly the elderly, young mums with small kids whose menfolk are fighting, and the disabled and vulnerable. It is these that are been rescued and evacuated and who are a focus for the humanitarian aid that we are others are trying to help. 

 A short history of my involvement in Ukraine and what this appeal is about is below but for more detail please go to the Updates. 

 A week after that invasion began in February 2022 I arrived at the railway station in Pzremyl on the Polish border which quickly became the hub for those crossing to the safety of refuges and homes in many European cities. In the six weeks I was there it is reported that 25% of the Ukranian population left their homes and it certainly felt like it for those of us meeting the trains and buses crammed with frightened and bewildered, mostly women and children. It was a tough time as we tried to provide practical and emotional support – food, clothing, a space for a mum to lie down and rest whilst I held and fed a tiny baby with formula milk. 

The large network I built up at that time, comprising military, local politicians, health workers and local NGOs has enabled me to continue to respond to the constantly changing humanitarian needs of the communities in and near the frontline of the conflict. Over the period I have been alongside those in Lviv, Kharkiv, Kherson, towns south of Belarus  and villages near the eastern front like the heavily shelled Donhenke.  Aid as varied as generators, wood burning stoves, boots and clothing, medical equipment, food blankets, building material and vehicles have all been purchased and delivered to where it is needed. 

But it has become increasing more difficult and dangerous to operate. I know of volunteers who have lost their lives, or who have been injured and I am also aware of others who have been captured and are held in Russia. The increased deployment of drones, along with artillery and missile fire, often deployed in different places at different times as weapons of terror, heap physical and psychological damage on vulnerable civilians and make the aid effort difficult.  I get many questions about why I am still returning and the impact this must have for my family. Of course this concerns me but the commitment of so many to Ukraine lies in a belief that we all share a common humanity and if we believe in freedom and democracy then we must be prepared to live and defend the values which are their foundation. Generations of our forefathers did this for us, selflessly sacrificing themselves. My generation in particular has enjoyed opportunities largely denied by the ordinary working people who went before us – education for all,  employment, social mobility, universal health care, house ownership.  I understand that many of these advantages have come under considerable pressure of late and there is real need in our own communities . It’s  hard to understand for people who do not live the reality of what many ordinary people in Ukraine experience every day – food poverty, homes lost, loved ones fighting on the front line, relatives with life changing injuries, or killed, children traumatised, others abducted and taken to Russia, the vulnerable deliberately targeted. 

It's clear that the conflict is not going to end any time soon and I am committed to continuing to do all I can to support those who I believe are fighting for not just their own freedom but for the very values which make us human and for the lifestyes we all take for granted today. I've met many of the extraordinary people who have come together to defend their families and nation - they are shop workers, teachers, students, IT professionals, health workers - they are like all of us - ordinary people trying to do their best to repel the Russian forces.  Many are being brutalised, raped, tortured, and  paying with their lives. The freedoms we enjoy and want for our families and loved ones are worth fighting for. The Ukranians believe this and are giving their lives for it. I know that you also share my belief that in a small way we can  make a difference and help relieve some of the pain and suffering for someone.  Thank you for being at my side on this. 

The words all Ukrainians know:

Keep fighting — you are sure to win!

God helps you in your fight!

For fame and freedom march with you,

And right is on your side!

Please help me to help the innocent victims of the war in Ukraine by donating what you can.