We are a group of people in Cornwall and Devon that share a passion for helping the Ukrainian people in this time of utter hardship. We have all worked with other aid organisations with the common objective of getting aid to Ukraine.
We cannot forget the scenes of desperation after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022 resulting in millions of people being displaced inside Ukraine and as refugees across Europe and beyond. These displaced people added to those who escaped the Russian backed invasion in 2014 which resulted in the Russian annexation of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. The sheer volume of displaced people means that the Ukrainian government cannot support this group and fight a war, they need non-governmental help and support which is where groups such as Aid2Ukraine have stepped up to help fill the void.
There are many models of getting aid to where it is needed:
- Donate to international charities.
- Take aid to a neighbouring country (e.g.Poland) from where Ukrainian volunteers or charity workers onward transport the aid into Ukraine.
- Deliver aid into Ukraine to the people who need it.
We have tried all of these, but the model that we have found works best for us and the aid recipient organisations is to source vehicles that the recipients have requested, we pack them with aid, drive to the recipients in Ukraine and hand over the aid and vehicles. We then fly back.
We have developed networks for collecting humanitarian and medical aid, but the challenge always to generate enough money to purchase the vehicles and pay for ferries, fuel, insurance and all he other costs associated with transporting vehicles 2,200 miles.