Russians Attack a Kindergarten in Kharkiv

 

This blog was going to be entitled, Autumn in Kharkiv, but today's events make that title inadequate. Mid-morning, Kharkiv came under a drone attack; three hit a private kindergarten not far from the city centre and set it on fire. Fortunately, teachers managed to get children to safety and all 48 children were evacuated. But a utility worker, who was cleaning the street, was killed. Ten were injured, including a five-year-old girl. 

The last few weeks have felt like a relatively quiet period in Kharkiv, whilst attacks have centred on Kyiv and elsewhere, frequently targeting energy infrastructure; e.g. the whole of the left bank in Kyiv was without electricity after a Russian attack on the night of 9 - 10 October. It's colder than usual this year, already close to freezing at night, a harbinger of what could be a difficult winter.

There have been attacks here, too, including on our power supplies, leading to these trams in Saltivka district being at a standstill...

But the most common sign in Kharkiv is "Ми працюємо," which means we are working, i.e. we're open, such as this honey shop in Saltivka...

The market in Saltivka has been partially destroyed by Russian bombs but stalls continue to function next door to those that have been burnt out.

Just 2 nights ago Russia launched 6 guided aerial bombs against Kharkiv. In the past week four civilians have been killed in Kharkiv region, by drones and shells. Sirens sound constantly, 24 hours. But there have been periods when we experienced drone attacks almost every night. Terror is relative to experience.

Hell's Kitchen update:

We have a steady inflow of foreign volunteers from all over the world, who work alongside the permanent Ukrainian volunteers, many of whom have full-time jobs, as well as families to look after. The roles for foreign volunteers have increased since Hell's Kitchen's inception, when there were only one or two people who helped the Ukrainian baker make bread rolls. Now there are always at least 3 foreign volunteers staffing the bakery; one of us, usually me, is head baker on Saturday.

3 volunteers are scheduled to be on "veg prep" every day, which involves washing very dirty potatoes and carrots (no pristine supermarket vegetables here!), and peeling and chopping potatoes, carrots and onions into buckets; sometimes there is a pile of garlic to be peeled - everybody's favourite task!! It's not a glamorous job, but it's a very sociable one and most volunteers seem to love veg prep, especially if they don't mind getting up for the 07:30 start!...so much so that one day we had a record 6 volunteers on veg prep! The exception to that enjoyment may be when the chef asks for 8 buckets of peeled potatoes!

Note from Liuda:

Until we have extra potatoes (but it won’t be always like this!), Galina wants to stew potatoes aaaaand she again needs:

8 full buckets of potatoes

1 bucket of carrots, piled high

1 bucket of onions, piled high

again and again we THANK YOU for your help 💙💛

And I just hope that you like stewed potatoes as a dish 😊☺😊

The final role is "wash station" - a euphemism for 4 hours plus of scrubbing huge pots and greasy pans! Although it's not always popular, it's great to hear the chatter of the Ukrainian kitchen ladies.

Now that we have so many volunteers and different tasks, having 2 coordinators works well - Franklin interviews prospective volunteers, arranges their arrival and departure, and gets involved with multitudinous other needs, from phone cards to medical appointments. I am responsible for the daily rota (schedule) being sufficiently staffed and ensuring everyone knows what they're doing. I believe that we may be the only volunteer organisation here to interview foreign volunteers, and also, one of the few volunteer kitchens to have specific start times for all roles, which is essential to the smooth running of the kitchen and getting the job done, which is serving good, fresh food, daily, to hospitals and other people in need across Kharkiv.

There is something very special about Hell's Kitchen that can bring out the best in people, and also have a lasting positive impact on them, which may be why we have so many returning ("Alumni") volunteers and those who continue to support with donations, even if they can't come back. A volunteer who left recently had the idea of purchasing a book in which departing volunteers can leave a message. As Liuda, our kitchen manager said, "A day will definitely arrive when we reminisce about these challenging times and share our memories."

Another volunteer, leaving this week, wrote letters of thanks to some volunteers. Liuda translated those needed into Ukrainian and I wrote them out, for practice. One was to the Ukrainian ladies who volunteer every Sunday and this was their response.

And one letter was to me, which was very special. 

Donations

Thank you for all donations, especially from Trawden Community Shop and Library's permanent craft stall and Ukraine collection box. Trawden is a small village in East Lancashire, in the north of England, where I lived before the war in Ukraine. Now my home is definitely in Kharkiv for the foreseeable future, but sometimes I remember the beautiful countryside of my previous home.

Thank you to all those in Trawden who have supported Ukrainian refugees in their homes and for your ongoing support.

I gave one of the Trawden teddies to a badly injured Canadian International Legion soldier, who we visited in hospital before he was transferred. He was very touched.

The donation from Trawden's Ukraine collection box went to Adults for Children, mainly to support for children with disabilities, e.g. with medication.

A meeting of voluntary organisations took place when Adults for Children donated some rice, of which they had an excess quantity, to Hell's Kitchen, where it was then donated to one of the few remaining hospitals in Kharkiv region.

Finally, many thanks for your comments on the blog post, which I always read.

Postscript: Autumn really is beautiful here.

To make a donation to the regular causes I support, please open PayPal and, when asked for email, enter sunflower_house@hotmail.co.uk

You can specify where you would like your donation to go, including whether or not you wish to support a civilian only cause; otherwise I will send the money where I think the need is greatest. You can also make a donation to shelters for animals abandoned because of the war.

Adults For Children supports families displaced by the war, and also local soldiers.

Hell's Kitchen cooks daily, nutritious meals and bakes bread, for hospitals, wounded soldiers and others in need.

Franklin, Hell's Kitchen foreign volunteer coordinator, supports soldiers and medics on the frontline. Currently, he is raising funds for thermal tops and bottoms, and fleece jackets for soldiers.

Inya runs a small group of volunteers who make camouflage nets, ghillie suits and stretchers.