Thanksgiving

Ukraine doesn't celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving but Hell's Kitchen does - to thank all their volunteers, from home and abroad. Liuda and Yegor, the kitchen's founders, put on a huge spread of food and drink for us.

All volunteers were given individual, personal cards at the party and Yegor sent this message to us:

"I want to greet you with the word 'Friends.' Yes, each one of you is a Friend to us. I never could have imagined that while standing against one of the biggest and most evil empires of our time, we would find friends from all over the world, from Europe to New Zealand.

You prove to us that the words 'freedom,' 'liberty,' 'the rule of law,' and 'democracy' are not just fancy words that politicians like to repeat. These are real values.

So I want to say THANK YOU, my friends. Thank you for our hope, our example, and our support. Thank you! Glory to Ukraine!"

In the same spirit of Thanksgiving, I  would like to again thank the volunteers in Trawden, East Lancashire, who continue to send donations and make lovely hand crafted items to raise money. Recently, Trawden held a festive fair, which included a stall for Ukraine. 

The proceeds from the Ukraine stall were sent to me. I now give donations to four different charitable organisations in Kharkiv: Adults for Children, Franklin's fund for winter clothing/equipment for soldiers, Hell's Kitchen and the women's camo netting group that I've participated in. One roll of camouflage fabric costs about 3100 UAH, between £50 and £60.

Franklin received a video from one of the soldiers in a unit on the northern front. The soldier was wearing a fleece jacket, which was amongst a supply sent to his unit last week. He said that, with the thermals, "the guys feel good and warm."

Another unit received insulated hooded outfits that block out thermal imaging cameras.

Also from Trawden, more of the little hand-knitted bears made a journey from England to Ireland to Ukraine, brought over by a current volunteer in Hell's Kitchen. I've given them to one of the Ukrainian volunteers in the kitchen, to distribute to children in her community and to soldiers, who use them as amulets  I gave a couple of teddies to volunteers' children who were in the kitchen yesterday 

Last Saturday Hell's Kitchen held a live streaming cooking class with recipes for simple Ukrainian dishes. The idea was that participants could cook with us from home or simply watch the 3 volunteers, from England, Ireland and New Zealand, cook and explain their recipes, as well as talk about their motivation for being here. 

Despite some problems with people accessing the event, it went very well and I can vouch for the food being delicious. I've had bronchitis for 3 weeks so I wasn't much use, other than for taking away dishes and testing the food...

We believe it may have been the first live online cooking event in a war zone! This is the video recording:

https://youtu.be/-tQm20DtXso?si=LjnZfyP8RTy8-mMz

In November, it is reported that Kharkiv was attacked using eight different types of weapons, which indicates a 'systematic, purposeful terror tactic aimed at intimidating the civilian population.' 166 people were injured during November, including one child, and one person died.

But people here are not intimidated and Kharkiv is preparing for Christmas. Santa Claus received a little shrapnel damage during one of the bomb attacks but this was repaired.

For the third year in a row in Kharkiv, the main city Christmas tree is set up in the Metro (underground) for safety reasons. The official opening is expected to take place on Saint Nicholas Day, December 6. The tree that used to be erected in Freedom Square was, reportedly, the highest in Ukraine - 38.5 meters (the height of a 14-storey building). 

There is even a little corner of Christmas in my flat!

Any donations, however small, are greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, I've become aware that I've been writing the end of my email address incorrectly. To make a donation, please:

Open PayPal and, when asked for email, enter sunflower_house@hotmail.co.uk