SUCCOUR

(A HELPING HAND)

HUMANITARIAN AID WORKERS FOR UKRAINE

The portraits and stories were captured in March 2022, just after Russia invaded Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022. Many people around the world gave their time generously to support the people of Ukraine.

Witnessing the gathering of people and various support groups taking place around Gloucestershire, Emilie sought out a way to connect with a local group in Gloucester who were gathering vital supplies to take over to Ukraine. An initial introduction was made through a WhatsApp Group, which led to a meeting with Alastair Chambers who was one of the instigators of a volunteering operation taking place at temporary premises, at a local school in Gloucester.

Emilie witnessed long queues of cars waiting patiently to drop off generous donations, some boots were full of newly bought supplies to meet the basic needs of the families in Ukraine, and there was also a plethora of various medical equipment being donated. The scene was incredible to watch as people united from all across the country to help.

This was the beginning of the volunteering operation, as the school was only a temporary premise, and the continuation of supplies was still streaming in, Alastair and his team were given a warehouse to use in Gloucester to store the supplies - where a dedicated team of volunteers based themselves to continue to source, pack and send donations to Ukraine. The warehouse is now not in use, however, some of the original volunteers, and new volunteers, are continuing to collect donations today.

***ALASTAIR***
I began supporting Ukraine through an initial Facebook post asking for donations on the very first day of the Russian invasion –– with the hope of possibly getting enough items to fill up a four-by-four, however, that snowballed into thousands of donations.
Myself, Lucas and Adrian organised, collected and delivered the very first lorry from the U.K. to Ukraine and met House of Lords, Lord Daniel John Hannan, Baron Hannan of Kingsclere at the Ukrainian border. He thanked and congratulated us for being so quick to be able to get aid out, he commented that we were quicker to respond than any other multi-national charities.
We then continued by sourcing more than 20 forty-four tonne lorries, a warehouse and seven large vehicles that have gone over to Ukraine, full of medical and humanitarian donations. We wanted people to physically see where the donations went due to the amount of ‘buy-in’ from the public and community, we felt it was a due diligence of where the donations had been distributed so we attended with the vehicles to document where the aid was delivered and received.
Due to an overwhelming amount of donations given, we sourced a local school to carry out the operations of receiving and packaging donations accordingly, however, this also became overcrowded with hundreds of cars which soon caused a traffic jam! We ended up with a staggering amount of donations and realised we would need to find premises for storage.
We initially used a small farmers’ unit in Brockworth, followed by a six-and-a-half-thousand-square-metre unit warehouse from Gloucestershire County Council, this was sponsored by a local company called Telereal Trillium. The space was free of charge, and everyone in the warehouse were volunteers giving their time.
We’ve travelled to Ukraine on several occasions and witnessed soldiers, volunteers and aid workers with no protection, they were just wearing trainers and t-shirts. We’ve also been to areas under siege, where people have no helmets or body armour, some go into orphanages and hospitals - they’re at risk of losing their lives without any protection. We need to try and find a solution to sourcing protection for these individuals.
To supply body armour to a standard that would facilitate and protect a life, a UK military export licence certificate is needed. I followed the official protocol and successfully acquired the certificate that was needed to move forward.
We also discovered that protection in vehicles was needed during the evacuation of people from the towns and cities. We managed to source some old gold and cash transit vans that were used to transport gold bullion, diamonds, gold and cash.
We put some seats in the back and used them as ambulances to evacuate people. It’s not obvious that the vans are armoured from an outsider’s point of view, that works in our favour as they wouldn’t become an easy target.
We have since helped deliver 30 plus of these vehicles, where one of these had humanitarian aid graphics showing it was not a military vehicle. It was used daily to evacuate 60-plus civilians each day from a Ukrainian civilian town which was under Russian bombardment. After a week’s evacuation and just after I left the vehicle in Ukraine, sadly it was ambushed by the Russian invaders and one of the volunteers/journalists died. His name was Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff. The French president requested an immediate investigation into this and since then I have provided a witness statement for a war crimes investigation against Vladimir Putin.
*I have since been working with Ukrainian Government Ministers, The Ukrainian 2nd in command and directly for the Ukrainian MOD, The Ukrainian Border Guards and Kyiv Military Administration.*
This attack has not put us off and even in February 2024 we will have two ex-UK MOD armoured 4x4 Land Rover defenders going to Ukraine to help remove injured people in hard-to-reach areas. Unfortunately, the majority of volunteers in Gloucester have stopped helping back in 2022. However, I will continue to help as and where I can.

“I find the operation at the warehouse incredible, the people are so humbling.”

— Tricia

**KATHY**
I’m the Councillor on the county council, responsible for Adult Social Care. I’ve been asked by the leader of the council to be in charge of all Ukrainian appeals staff and also how we receive guests to the county.
Alastair Chambers, who’s also another councillor, and Jaro, who’s a city councillor; they’re very much in trying to get stuff into a warehouse. Their job is to find out the resources, and the equipment, and then get it here. Our job here is to try and coordinate it all sensibly and logically so that when the lorries come to take it, it’s easy for them to just take it away.
On Wednesday a lorry was packed full, it was amazing. There’s always a bit of a buzz - even though it’s so serious at the other end - you always feel quite uplifted when you’ve seen a group of people come together and get the lorry packed up with stuff that was needed; that was good.
We’re hoping to get another lorry in a couple of weeks, it will be going out from us. I’m also looking at a local business, that may be able to help us with lorries going back to Poland that are empty, and taking some aid back with them.

**VIX**
I’ve been collecting donations, using my little two-bed flat to store bits in. I took the donations to a couple of places and then I spotted Alastair’s post and thought: ‘Right, I will bring all the donations straight up to the warehouse and speak to him’. The work that everyone’s doing here is just amazing! All I’m doing is collecting donations, everyone has worked so hard in collecting, sorting, and organising donations and ensuring the aid goes out to where it is truly needed.
I say yes to every donation, if someone offers me something, I’m like, ‘Yes, I’ll take that, yes, I’ll have that’. I was trying to keep some toys back for family settling over here if they’ve got young children but the families that seem to be coming over have older children. I saw Alistair’s post about going over to the orphanage in Ukraine and I thought, ‘Do you need toys?’ because every child should have a toy. At least a teddy to cuddle at night-time, and some clean clothes, it’s quite teary thinking what they’re going through.
And whatever I can do to help, whether it’s for an adult, a child, or men fighting for their country, I will collect for them and I will bring it over. God bless them, hopefully, that it will be over soon, but at least with what we’re collecting, it is doing some good because it’s what they need - they’ve got nothing at all. So that’s my little way of helping really.
It was heart-breaking when I came over on Thursday and discovered a flood in the warehouse, I rang Alastair and he came straight down. Thankfully a lot of the stuff was on pallets wrapped and ready to go, but we lost some donations for the orphanage. This was heartbreaking going through the wet boxes and trying to salvage as much as we could. Thankfully, we got through that, a flood is nothing really to what they’ve been going through, but we’ve saved a hell of a lot.

“I’m supporting Ukraine because it’s so close to home. In other wars around the world, you feel that you’re remote from it. But this one is right on our doorstep.”

— Duncan

**SARAH**
*Normally at this time of year, I’d be in Romania at the orphanages with Missionaries of a Charity, but they said I was needed more doing some things for Ukraine.*
My best friend is married to a lovely Ukrainian man and they’re sending trucks out to Ukraine. I then found Alastair and his warehouse initiative on our doorstep. We’re making lots of different packages; emergency packages of clothing for women, packages for soldiers, and mother and baby packages, they are all put together nicely and with dignity and lots and lots of love.

**LINDA**
I started by supporting a lady in Stroud, whose parents were still in Ukraine, and I do the coffee mornings for her. We looked online and saw this warehouse was opening on Thursday. We came with the rest of what we had, and we’ve been coming ever since, sorting and boxing.
It’s very emotional, especially when you’ve done boxes for the military. What you’re putting in there is going to meet somebody that may be on the front line - that is difficult. We brought a lot of toys and put things together for the children in the orphanage.
I don’t think people realise that when you’re a refugee, you’ve got what you’ve got on, and what you can carry, and that can be very little, and so they need everything. We’ve seen the pictures; we’ve seen the pictures of the atrocities and it just breaks my heart. I just want to try and help as much as I can, to do my little bit, just try and change the world that needs changing.
So, me and my friend have gone around charity shops, buying equipment for the elderly which is hopefully going this week. We’ve been buying shoes, taking them home to wash them, and packing them up to be sent. We’re doing this because it has touched our hearts, I believe if there’s something that touches your heart, you have to act on it; and as a Christian, that’s what I’ve tried to do, in my own little way - help as much as I can.

**CHRIS**
I don’t really know what I’m doing. I’m just trying to make my way around all these boxes and see that everything is in order so that we’ve got toothbrushes in a toothbrush box, and that sort of thing. I’ve supported Ukraine previously, but not like this. There was a lorry that went from just down our road, we sent it with a load of stuff to Ukraine last month, but I haven’t done any more than that really.
As a Buddhist, I chant every day and I chant for the things that I want to work. I’m chanting a lot really, for people wherever they’re from, and whatever religion and whatever position they’re in, to bring out their compassion and their strength and give them the strength to fight and to uphold justice and to try to do good in whatever way they find is appropriate for them really.

“…the guys on the check points out there, believe it or not…trainers and a pair of jogging bottoms…”

— Denzil

**CYNTHIA**
I’m giving my time volunteering. Also, as a Buddhist, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because we don’t want war. We have to change the karma of the world. So, I’m just doing my little bit and when you see the kids receive the baby food, or the kids in orphanages receive the shoe boxes where they consist of different fun things and some sweets, I know the atmosphere in that refugee centre changes their thoughts.
*Alastair said it is like euphoria, that is the word, which I’m quite impressed by. But by giving my little time and my little contribution, it does change the world.*

“Every child should have a toy.”

— Vix

**NOK**
I do little things, like sorting through clothes and volunteering, now I volunteer at the warehouse, helping with packing, that’s a little thing I can do. I believe that one small dot can make a difference, and as a Buddhist, one individual can change a situation. We chant morning and evening and in our prayer every day we pray for world peace, but with the Ukraine situation: we pray; I pray; and my husband prays; for peace for everybody.
We feel for the residents, we feel for the children, for the people - ordinary people - and pray for their safety and their good health, and for peace to come to Ukraine as soon as possible. People are starting to say “Oh, this might go on for years”, but as Buddhists, we chant for the end.

***DUNCAN***
I’m supporting Ukraine because it’s so close to home. In other wars around the world, you feel that you’re remote from it. But this one is right on our doorstep. It’s a shame that people in previous conflicts haven’t gotten as involved, but I think people don’t understand. A war in a different culture, people can’t relate to it quite so well, this is not too different from what happened in Syria, but nobody really spoke much about that. There wasn’t a great deal of relief aid. I think with Ukraine, people can get behind it because they’re European, the same as we are.
My wife first got involved in working with the warehouse, and I’ve been looking for a way to help and get involved, so I’ve come along with her today. It’s my first time here and it’s great, previously I did a lot of relief aid work with the war in Croatia - but twenty years ago - so this is kind of nice to be back doing this sort of thing again, and helping people.

“I don’t think people realise that when you’re a refugee, you’ve got what you’ve got on, and what you can carry, and that can be very little, and so they need everything.”

— Linda

JO
I met Alastair through the provider of packaging that I work for, which is Macfarlane Packaging based on Waterwells in Gloucester. We delivered some boxes, tape, and stretch wrap over to him initially. I built up a bit of a rapport with Alastair and we, as a company, moved some of the products from Brockworth down to the WMB site. Since then, I’ve been involved in the warehouse where I’ve dropped off some more boxes and packaging.
Another way that I’m supporting Ukraine is through a cycling challenge that I’ve done with my partner; which we finished today. We’ve cycled the distance across Ukraine, which was around 364 miles, and raised one thousand and sixty-five pounds. The money is going to Alaistair as well, to cover some of the transport to take some of the goods over to Ukraine. It’s good to do something different. I specifically wanted to cover the transport rather than buying goods, as I know that quite a lot of people are donating, and covering the actual transport to take goods over is something different.

**DENZIL**
I was involved for the first time when a team went to pick up two armoured cars to go to Poland. The border guards knew other people who were in the same sort of game. I turned up at the warehouse and said “I’ve got a pallet of donations for you, and it’s full of military equipment”.
We had helmets and body armour, and a guy turned up with four bergens (military rucksacks). One of the bergens was full of socks that you get issued to wear in Norway; you know that they’re just right for that sort of place.
A truck came the other night, as Kathy said, it took us an hour to load it, and the truck went within the hour carrying all the military stuff and lots of medical aid. The next lot we have to get out is all the stuff for the orphanages and the old people’s homes, they are desperate.
We’re asking people to bring in lots of medical stuff because they’re finding it hard to get it over there. And we’re asking, as well, for a load of military equipment because the guys on the checkpoints out there, believe it or not ... trainers and a pair of jogging bottoms ... and that’s it. But they are doing a job. It’s great you know - to have that much grit in your stomach to just stand in a pair of trainers and no protection, I take my hat off to them, I really do.

“We have to change the karma of the world.”

— Cynthia