Because I can...

 Earlier today I responded to a question on our Hell's Kitchen Alumni Volunteers chat, which was: "What do you tell people who invariably ask why you would go into a city which gets attacked, which sits within striking distance of hostile Russian weaponry when it's not your city or country?  What do you say?" There were a lot of detailed, meaningful responses; mine was quite short: because I can; also, because it's a just cause to support resistance against an illegal invasion of a democratic country, and because it seems to mean a lot to people to know that they're not forgotten by the outside world, particularly in places like Kharkiv. It's not, necessarily, big things that matter, a good example being the knitted teddies from Wales, which have been giving pleasure to children since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Just before I left Kharkiv on Tuesday evening, volunteers from the charity, Adults for Children, distributed teddies to internally displaced families. The photos and the descriptions of the families tell their story.

5 children in one family, low income, lone mother - she and one child are ill - from Brytai village, Kharkiv District, evacuated to Kharkiv city....

Also 5 children (the oldest was at sports training), low income...

Refugees from Lysychansk, Luhansk district...

Refugees from Kupyansk (3 children in family)...

Refugees whose flat was fully destroyed, 4  kids in family, this one is the youngest...

Thank you for the generous donations, following the last blog. They helped to cover the windows in Hell's Kitchen with protective film, buy medicine for some of the children in the above photos and provide medical aid for hospitals/stabilisation points for wounded soldiers.

I'm currently packing all my personal possessions from my house in Trawden, which is difficult, but I'm lucky to have the support of good friends. I leave this house permanently on Wednesday, although I'll be back, in the near future, to visit friends in the village and I hope to return. I tell everyone in Ukraine about the wonderful community spirit in Trawden, which has led to us having a shop, a community centre, a library and a pub, all run and staffed by volunteers. Also, it's meant that there has been ongoing support for Ukraine, in donations and craft fairs to raise money. I hope this will continue.

My home will be in Ukraine for the forseeable future and, although it will be nice to see family and friends, I can't wait to return to Kharkiv.

 Please send a donation, however small, if you can to: PayPal: sunflower_house@hotmail.co.uk



Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2024 at 9:43 PM

    We're waiting here in Kharkiv for you to return!

    ReplyDelete

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