Fiona4Ukraine

This blog is a special appeal for second hand laptops (and other computer equipment) to send to Kharkiv. There are very many people around the world who are sending computer equipment to Ukraine, particularly in the UK. But every single piece of help is valuable. From Kharkiv, eastwards, most children are unable to attend school. Many schools have been destroyed and/or it is simply too dangerous for children to go to school, due to the risk of bombing and shelling. There are some underground schools, e.g. classes for a limited number of young children in the Metro (underground) in Kharkiv, but they are operating in small spaces. So laptops are vital for children to be able to continue their education, whether in underground schools or, as is more usual, online at home.  The photos below show laptops that have been distributed to children from low-income families in Kharkiv by the charity, Adults for Children. (Faces are disguised for anonymity as permission to publicise these photo...

I'm on a train journey back to Kharkiv, which started in Keighley in northern England, where I stayed with a friend. Of course, there was a ferry crossing - from Hull to the Netherlands, where I stayed with another good friend, and also a great supporter of Ukraine. It was a wonderful, relaxing time, with also lots of exploration, walking and cycling, and some previously untried experiences - riding on the back of a bicycle, 'side saddle,' and operating a hand-pulled ferry! The journey home has already involved several train and bus rides, as rail services in the Netherlands and Germany were disrupted on the day I left. Now I'm on my way to Lviv and a final overnight sleeper train to Kharkhiv. It has to be my favourite way of getting to sleep, being rocked (not always gently!) by the train. Some of the trains are very old-fashioned, with not a piece of plastic in sight... The situation continues to be difficult in Kharkiv and region. ...

 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 d...

This is my favourite mural in Kharkiv, painted alongside one of the busiest streets, Sumska, by a street artist called Hamlet, which is his actual birth name, not a pseudonym. The words mean, "I see everything." There is a lot to see just now. This evening I'm taking the overnight train from Kharkiv to Lviv. Then I was going to have to take an overnight bus to Krakow, Poland - a long and tedious journey - but at the last minute, I managed (with some help!) to find a rare seat on a train to Krakow. My reason for returning to England is not nice - clearing out my possessions from my house, before it becomes no longer my house (although it's nothing compared to what many people are going through here). On the positive side, I'll see my son, Sam, on a visit from Canada, and I'll also catch up with friends, in England and elsewhere. And I'll have a break from constant sirens and bombs. As I sit, waiting for my train to leave, I'm aware that the next stop is...