Your friends are fundraising. Don't miss out, opt in.

Gary Fear

Gary Fear is crowdfunding

0%
£68,980
raised of £72,000 target by 1123 supporters

Weʼre raising £72,000 to travel to Ukraine for an eighth time to provide refugees with food and supplies

Don't have time to donate right now?

Story

In 2022 with 2018, I had the pleasure of travelling to Ukraine with two great friends on a fund raising charity drive to raise money for our local First Responders. I only spent three nights in Kyiv but found the people to be decent, friendly, warm and welcoming. For that reason, we decided to do something to help them.

Our first trip!

As many of you will know, we visited Ukraine in April, taking a suitcase of childrens clothes and sweets and plus a credit card, knowing we could spend over £7,000 on food and essentials. We flew to Krakow in Poland where we were met by a friend called Igor, a Ukrainian refugee who moved to Poland after Russia invaded.

Our first trip was to a huge supermarket in Krakow, where we filled his minibus with supplies – twelve full shopping trollies in total!

We then travelled to Jaroslaw in Poland for the night and, on the 22nd of April, we drove to Medyka, on the Poland Ukraine border, taking a surprisingly short three hours to cross into Ukraine, due to the fact we were carrying aid and we were waved through past miles of queuing traffic. Once in Ukraine, we travelled to Lviv where we made the first of our food drops to people living in apartments. These people were so grateful that they insisted we sit and eat with them as their way of saying a small thank you. Very humbling.

From Lviv, we went to Ternopil, further East and met with the leaders of a church which regularly feeds 200 people a day and at night, turns into a refuge with the pews moved to allow mattresses to be spread out. After learning what the church people needed, we left to go to a missionary refuge where we unloaded all of our supplies and were given food and a bed for the night.

The next day, we went to a huge cash and carry and filled the minibus again, this time to take to the church. We filled their stockroom with enough food to feed 200 people for around two weeks and again, were invited for food. Wonderful people who were so grateful.

That afternoon, we visited two local schools which have been turned into refugee centres, with ten or twelve people living on mattresses on the floor of classrooms. Many had been injured, most had lost everything and all were in tears to see that we had travelled to bring something.

The rest of the day was more shopping for the missionary refuge and then we returnedto Lviv. An interesting evening with air raid alarms twice but luckily, no actual raid!

On the Sunday, we bought more supplies and crossed back into Poland. We headed to Krakow where we said goodbye to Igor who then drove the supplies to Warsaw to distribute to fellow Ukrainians living near him.

A quiet amazing trip, full of emotion and great satisfaction. To see the look on the face of a person who has next to nothing when you give them enough food for a week is something quite valuable. To know you helped is priceless and we created some memories in those few days that we will never forget.

Our second trip!

We had a successful second trip to Ukraine in June, visiting Rivne, Kyiv, Velyka Dymerka, Irpin and Bucha.

A far more disturbing trip than the first, due to what we witnessed. On our first trip, we met many people living in uncomfortable but safe surroundings. This time, we visited people living in what remained of their shattered homes. Some still had remnants of Russian missiles in their gardens and all had experienced the worst of humanity.

The devastation we experienced in Irpin and Bucha was worse than anything you have seen on the news. Home after home destroyed but people were still trying to live there despite no water and no electricity in many cases.

One of the saddest moments was when we met Anastacia and her mother. Anastacia is disabled and she and her parents had fled their home in the East when the Russians invaded. They were living in an unused school in Rivne along with more than 100 other refugees. We gave them a substantial amount of food and promised we would find some important medicine in Kyiv and post it back for Anastacia.

This was an eye opening experience and, at times, a quite upsetting one. Nevertheless, it made us more determined than even to continue doing whatever we can.

We are now aiming to hit £20,000. With £12,700 spent on our first two trips, this will give us over £7,000 and, to ensure we can spend it, we’re going for a week rather than five days.

Our third trip

On the 25th of August, we flew to Poland and again, we were met by Igor. He had already been shopping and had dozens of bags of food to distribute. We drove into Ukraine with two Ukrainian women and their children who were desperate to return home and dropped one off with her family in Korostyshiv. The young boy hadn't seen his grandfather since the war started and they cuddled for the whole time we were there.

From there we took the long drive to Kyiv, taking the other lady and her son safely to their temporary home.

Our first full day in Kyiv meant an early vist to the cash and carry and this was the pattern for the next three days, buying food , packing identical bags, loading them into our minibus and driving to destroyed towns and villages to deliver it. We visited Chernihiv, Bohdanivka, Borodyanka, Vyleka Dymerka and others. All had people living in shattered homes, often without water or electricity.

An additional and very moving part of our trip was to take the ashes of a young British soldier, Jordan Gatley. Jordan died whilst fighting with the International Legion of the Ukrainian Army. He was posthumously awarded Ukraines highest military honour and we were proud to collect this on his parents behalf and bring it home to England.

None of this is easy. The fund raising is the hardest part of all and the emotional side of seeing these people and the conditions in which they live isn't fun either. However, we've loved what we've achieved and are keen to get back in January.

Our fourth trip!

Our fourth trip was easily the most successful, most rewarding and most unnerving trip we've done. We flew from Birmingham airport to Warsaw in Poland. From there, a drive of 285 (460km) miles through heavy snow to Medyka where we parked and walked across the border. Igor was waiting for us and, by this point, it was 6.00pm Ukraine time. We then started the long, 400 mile (643 km) journey to Kyiv, over very poor roads and again in heavy snow but couldn't make it all the way and stayed in a hotel near Korostyshiv. We did the rest of the journey the next morning and met with our contacts in the Ukraine army. They asked us if we would be prepared to take food into an area close to the front line in Kherson and provided us with helmets and body armour!

We had the benefit of an additional van, filling it with around £3,800 of food plus a generator that was going to be invaluable for a church that was a meeting point for people to eat, get warm and, with our help, now have light and the ability to charge mobile phones. We then set off South, travelling to Odessa and then Mykolaiv for the night, another 7 hours driving and another 380 miles (610 km). Next morning, we travelled to a church where members of the army were waiting to help us unload and pack our food into separate bags. The temperature was -3C but they supplied us with coffee and, believe me, after packing this many bags, we were warm. Once the 200 bags of food were loaded, we headed for Oleksandrivka where the remaining villagers were waiting for us at the village hall. Every person here had either lost their home or had it damaged. There was no electricity and the village hall was the hub for everything, with a large wood burning stove, makeshift power and even a Starlink internet connection. When we arrived, the army chaplain blessed the crowd and we then gave a large bag of food to everyone, with around 150 bags gone in seconds.

From there we went to Stanislav and handed out more food and it was here that we heard artillery in the distance for the first time. Quite disturbing!

From there, we headed to Kherson, a city recently liberated by the Ukrainians but still under daily shelling. The devastation there was as bad as anything we had seen in any of our trips and it's hard to imagine what these people have endured. We gave out the rest of our food and headed back to Mykolaiv. We learned later that Kherson, where we had been a couple of hours earlier, was again shelled and people injured.

On Wednesday, we left Mykolaiv and returned to Kyiv, with our army friends inviting us to a makeshift base hidden in a village close to Kyiv. From here, they co-ordinate the tracking of incoming drones and missiles. We were shown the control room where various ammunition was stored and where they had sophisticated displays tracking anything in the air. They gave us a late lunch of traditional Ukrainian food and then took us to another location where we were shown a mobile surface to air missile launcher. This had been on station since June and, in our previous two trips, we have driven past it a couple of dozen times but it was so perfectly camouflaged that you would bever know it's there. We finished Wednesday with more shopping and bagged it ready for delivery on Thursday morning.

On Thursday, after delivering to a nearby village, we went shopping again, this time buying a massive quantity of food to take to the army church in Kyiv where they could then take it further to the front line in Bakhmut. Once unloaded, we returned to the cash and carry for another shop. We bagged this up in sub zero temperatures and, due to failing light, decided to deliver it the next morning.

Friday, our last day in Kyiv, we were woken at 4.00am by air raid sirens. Even though we've heard them many times before, they still send a shiver down your spine. We set off to travel to Chernihiv and met with Valeria who had arranged for a large crowd of people to gather and we handed out all of our food. An amazing thing to do when you see their faces and one man insisted on giving us gifts of Ukrainian hats, scarves and flip flops and happily posed for a picture.

As we left Chernihiv to head to Kyiv, we learned that most of Ukraine was under air attack alert. It seems that Russia had launched a mass missile at Kyiv as well as Kherson where we had been previously and Lviv where we were headed next! However, a safe, uneventful but long journey saw us end our day in Lviv at 10pm that evening. The next morning, we did the last two hours back to Medyka, walked through both border checkpoints and collected our car. From there, a four hour drive took us to Warsaw where we had a well earned beer.

Our fifth trip

As you may have seen, all of our aid trips are in memory and honour of Jordan Gatley, an English soldier who died in Ukraine. Jordan’s mum and dad, Sally and Dean, have become great supporters of our aid efforts and Dean joined us for this trip.

We flew from Birmingham to Warsaw and drove to the border at Medkya to meet with Igor and started the long journey to Kyiv. Although the weather was far better this time, other traffic and accidents meant we couldn’t reach Kyiv before the midnight curfew. We stayed in a familiar hotel near Korostyshiv and made the rest of the journey the next day.

Our first visit was to deliver some goods to Tania & Dima Malinovski who had left Ukraine once the war started. Dima had suffered kidney failure in the past and now needs dialysis every two days. Only in the last two weeks, had he received the assurance that this could be done in Ukraine and he and Tania returned.

From there, we went shopping, filled well over a hundred bags with food and then met with another Dima, our Army friend. He had arranged for us to take food to remote villages north of Kharkiv. Again, we would be in an unsafe area and he supplied all four of us with helmets and body armour. Before we went, he presented us with a plaque as a thank you. We then and headed East to Kharkiv and6 hours later, reached our hotel just as air raids sirens sounded.

Next morning, we drove to a town called Derhachi to meet with Svetlana from the local government office. For the first time, we were told we needed a permit from the military to enter a conflict zone. A picture is here together with the translation kindly done by a Facebook friend.

Svetlana led the way, saying we must follow her path exactly due to mines. We headed North East to two villages, passing mine clearing teams and some of the most devastated landscapes we had seen. It was clear that this area had seen some fierce fighting. The first village was Mali Prokhody and it was here that we realised just how close we were to the Russian border. The artillery fire sounded much closer than we experienced last time and my phone received a text message saying ‘Hi from EE. Welcome to Russia’! When we looked at the map, Russia was less than 10km (6 miles) away! Mali Prokhody was occupied on the second day of the Russian invasion and lost their electricity supply. They were liberated in September of 2022 but still have no electricity.Two generators, shared between the village, are all they have to charge mobile phones and the mobile coverage is patchy too. We gave out food to all of the villagers there and travelled to the larger village of Velyki Prokhody.

At Velyki Prokhody, they had suffered badly. Most buildings were destroyed, including a medical centre that was brand new and due to open five days later. The Russians used the local school as their base and it was tragic to see all of the childrens things but with most of them destroyed and defaced. The school theatre was still full of Russian ammunition boxes, uniforms and helmets and the sports hall had been used to hide Russian tanks. In September, when the Ukrainians liberated the village, many of the Russian soldiers were killed and on a blackboard, written by a Russian soldier, was the message that translates into “Forgive Us”.

With our food given out, we returned to Kyiv and, as Dean was with us, we were asked to join members of the International Legion of Ukraine for dinner. These were Jordan Gatley’s comrades and friends and the time spent with them will stay in my mind. Many words of affection for Jordan and we also learned that the small pack of Jordan’s ashes are with one of the Legion every time they go on a mission. At the end of the evening, two representatives of the Internation Legion of Ukraine Memorial arrived. They presented Dean with a medal to honour Jordan and presented us with one to say thanks for our aid efforts.

The next day, Dean stayed with Jordan’s former commander and Dave, Igor and I went shopping again, spending a few thousand pounds on food and took it to the Army church for them to bag it and distribute it closer to the frontline. Once unloaded, we returned for more shopping, this time bagging it all up in the normal way.

It was getting late by the time we finished and we called it a day. The next day, we returned to a village we visited last year, Velyka Dymerka. Some things had changed here, with some people managing to start rebuilding their homes but others were not so lucky. There were one or two heart warming moments though. In August last year, we met a lovely lady who cried because she was on her own and all her family were in Germany. This time, her house was full and all of her family were there, including children and grandchildren. The opposite end of the scale of emotions was meeting a lady who watched as the Russians threw a hand grenade into an outside store where her son was hiding. He died and, not longer after, her husband had a heart attack and died. She cried when she told us that she had buried them both in the same cemetery.

By now, the money was spent and we decided to start the long journey back to the Polish border, breaking it overnight at Pantaliya, near Rivne. The next day, we finished up at Medyka around lunchtime, had the customary farewell photo with Igor and crossed the border back to the car before driving to Warsaw.

Our sixth trip

OUR SIXTH TRIP WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT!

This time, we took a car to donate to the Ukrainian Army. We set off late on Thursday 24th August and made it to Lviv in Ukraine for Saturday night, finishing in Kyiv at 3.30pm on Sunday 27th with a total of around 1,750 miles. We met with Igor at a Metro cash and carry and went shopping, then packed over 100 bags of food to deliver the next day. We then took the car to the Army Church, handed it over and go to bed.

The next day, Monday 28th, we headed to Chernihiv. Just outside the city, a party of around 100 people were waiting for us and we were given such a warm greeting! We handed out 100 bags of food and gave two children some knitted gifts from Ann Eastes , part of the amazing Nutty Knitters group in Nantwich. With that done, we headed back to Kyiv to buy more food and packed another 100 bags for the next day when we visit a place we haven't seen before.

Another long day Tuesday. Drove back to Chernihiv to pick up Anton, a new guide and then north for a further three hours, along terrible roads, to Orlivka, a village close to both the Belarus and the Russian borders. At the village church, people were waiting and we handed out food. Once finished, the pastors insisted we stay for lunch. Simple but tasty and very good of them. The drive back was the same five hours and no time to shop for the next day.

Wednesday morning, around 5.00am, Kyiv came under attack again, with a missile hitting a supermarket around 2.5 miles from our hoteland I managed to sleep through it all! Out for early shopping before heading off to a village called Dymer, stopping on the way at Sirius Dog Rescue to give them dog food. A warm welcome from everyone at Dymer and again, all of our food was given out. In the evening, we met with Marce from the Legion of Volunteers. An amazing man who presented us with embroidered patches.

No drama on the Wednesday night and, after an early food shop and delivery, we took the eight hour drive from Kyiv to the Polish border. We walked across the border and, instead of getting in a hire car to return to Warsaw, we took a taxi to a hotel and the next day, took a six hour train trip to Warsaw, ending up there at 4.30pm before flying home the next day.

Our seventh trip

Again a different trip. This time, on my own, with a flight from Birmingham to Krakow, a train from Krakow to Przemsyl and a taxi for the final bit to Medyka. Walked across the border and met with Igor and headed to Lviv where we met with Taras to hand equipment over to him. After that, the long drive to Kyiv, arriving at a hotel with just ten minutes to spare before the midnight curfew!

We had agreed to visit Kharkiv and Dnipro so the first morning was spent shopping with our biggest load ever - enough food to fill 220 identical bags. We had help from Igor's niece and others and the checkout alone took over 40 minutes! All the food was packed in the cold car park and we then delivered 20 of the bags to local people and grabbed an early night ready for the long day the next day.

Next day, up and out at 6.30am for the long 500km drive to Kharkiv, with terrible roads. Sometimes, travelling at 20mph or less due to the potholes. At Kharkiv, we met with Konstantin who runs a tyre repair business but also works hard to help local people. As we arrived, air raid sirens were sounding and we were given coffee before meeting the 200 people that had been given vouchers by Konstantin. All 200 bags were given out and we said goodbye before heading off to drive 230km to Dnipro where we immediately went shopping, this time packing 230 bags in the dark and the snow at 11.30pm! Finally a hotel and a good sleep.

Next morning, another early start and a 50km drive to Synel'nykove, meeting with a lady called Alla on the way. Alla heads up a church in Synel'nykove and proudly showed us the building they are preparing as a new community centre before taking us to their existing place where she had arranged for a hundred people or so to meet with us. We handed out food, shared hugs and had tears with many of the people and then drove the 50km back to Dnipro with Alla to the cultural centre where Alla has another church congregation and a childrens club. We were greeted with pizza and then met the children in the club where we handed out the last of our knitted toys from the Nutty Knitters in Nantwich. We went outside to distribute our food and, as we finished, the children presented us with drawings and with hand made bracelets.

Then a sad goodbye to Alla, with us promising we will return. An amazing lady with endless energy and commitment to her people. After a seven hour drive back to Kyiv, I arrived in my hotel and had the first beer of the trip. One minute later, the air raid warning sounded but the beer was too good to leave!

Next day, we had the pleasure of a later start, with me being persuaded to walk on the frozen Dnipro River in Kyiv whilst many locals were making holes in the ice to catch fish! Then, off to the cash and carry for more shopping, spending the last of our food money on food to take to the army church. Due to a change of plan, we couldn't meet the church members that afternoon so it left me free to take the Kyiv Metro to the centre of Kyiv via Arsenalna, the deepst underground station in Europe. A 20 minute journey, costing just 17 pence!

The afternoon in Kyiv was wonderful, with the city being as vibrant, colourful and picturesque as ever. The sad part being that the sea of flags in the main square that marks the fallen solders has grown beyond recognition.

Next morning, another normal start and even time for breakfast. Then off to distribute some food to local people before delivering the food from the day before to the army church. We then went with our friend Dima to a local equipment warehouse where we had a special purchase to make. The local Soroptomists in Nantwich had kindly raised enough money to buy another generator and, after choosing this, we delivered it to Grisha in the village of Hlevakha. The village is often without power and this means they can always charge phones to stay in touch. Grisha also showed us the remains of a Russian cluster munition that had the message "From Grandad to Ukraine" inscribed on it.

We returned to Kyiv to change vehicles and, on the way,, drove through a residential area that had been under missile or drone attack earlier in the month. Many damaged buildings and several destroyed cars. From there, we headed to Lviv and found a hotel for the night.

Next day, just a two hour trip to the border and, on the way, we stopped in Mostyska where we met a Canadian man who had been in Ukraine for just one day after joining the International Legion. He was getting his army ID sorted and happily posed for a photo. I hope he stays safe. From here, we drove to the border at Medyka and, after the normal sad goodbye to Igor, I took a taxi to Przemsyl and a train to Krakow.

If you donated, thank you. You have helped us do something amazing!

In the seven trips, here’s some interesting statistics:

We’ve travelled 26,295 miles (12,405 miles flying, 13,264 driving and 626 miles by train)

We’ve purchased around £62,000 of food

We’ve packed over 3,000 bags of food.

We’ve bought and delivered over 18 tonnes of food

We’re very proud of this and couldn’t do it without your donations.

Now we start fund raising for our eighth trip which will be in May and we aim to reach £72,000, giving us £9,000 to spend.

Share this story

Updates

27

  • Gary Fear3 days ago
    Gary Fear

    Gary Fear

    3 days ago

    With just seven weeks to go, my fund raising continues and I hope to reach a total of £72,000 by the time I leave on May 14th. Having spent £63,000 so far on seven trips, this will give me another £9,000 to spend on food. Anything above this will just mean I can but more food or even another generator for any village that is without power. Thanks if you have donated so far. I can't do any of this without your help and every penny you have given is precious.

    Update from the Page owner

    Share this update to help us raise more

  • Gary Fear19 days ago
    Gary Fear

    Gary Fear

    19 days ago

    With just over 2 months to go until our next aid trip, we're slowly getting towards our next target of £72,000. So far, we have spent £63,000 and delivered over 18 tonnes of food to people who desperately need help. If you have donated, thanks so much. You have helped us make an amazing difference and the people we have helped in Ukraine appreciate what we have managed to do so far.

    Update from the Page owner

    Share this update to help us raise more

  • Gary Fear2 months ago
    Gary Fear

    Gary Fear

    2 months ago

    Just three days to go and we smashed our target of £60,000! We have spent £51,000 so far meaning we should have had £9,000 to spend. Now, with an extra £3,000 we can do so much. Included in this is a huge donation from one of The Soroptomists in Nantwich and they would like us to buy a generator for a village and we'll be delighted to do that and deliver it too. Thanks so much if you donated something. If it was fiver, a tenner, twenty quid or more, it has been invaluable and we can't do this without your help. You've all been amazing.

    Update from the Page owner

    Share this update to help us raise more

2 years ago

Gary Fear started crowdfunding

Leave a message of support

Page last updated on: 3/29/2024 04.57

Supporters

1123

  • Gary Fear (on behalf of someone)

    Gary Fear (on behalf of someone)

    Mar 29, 2024

    Another donation from Mr & Mrs Kemp who kindly called into the Nantwich office of Butters John Bee. Thank you so much and I really appreciate it.

    £40.00

  • Gary Fear (on behalf of someone)

    Gary Fear (on behalf of someone)

    Mar 29, 2024

    From on eof the members of Stafford Rotary Club who gave me this in cash after I had given a talk on the trips to Ukraine so far. Thank you so much.

    £40.00

  • Gary Fear (on behalf of someone)

    Gary Fear (on behalf of someone)

    Mar 29, 2024

    Kindly donated by Stafford Rotary Club who invited me to give a talk on the Ukraine Aid trips so far. Thank you so much for your hospitality and for lunch too!

    £50.00

  • Gary Fear (on behalf of someone)

    Gary Fear (on behalf of someone)

    Mar 29, 2024

    From monies raised by Judith Paton and Newport Open Mic Night, Pat Gutteridge and Bellmans Yard Soul Club, Newport Irish Folk & Blues and all at Newport Navy Club. Thank you all so much! Amazing work!

    £820.00

  • Gary Fear (on behalf of someone)

    Gary Fear (on behalf of someone)

    Mar 27, 2024

    From a kind lady who donated in person to the Nantwich office of Butters John Bee. Thank you so much

    £50.00

  • Anonymous

    Anonymous

    Mar 24, 2024

    Go safe.

    £50.00

  • Gary Fear (on behalf of someone)

    Gary Fear (on behalf of someone)

    Mar 23, 2024

    A donation made in person into the office of Butters John Bee in Nantwich from Mr & Mrs Wilbraham. Thank you so much.

    £20.00

Gary Fear

Become a supporter

Help Gary Fear raise more

What is crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is a new type of fundraising where you can raise funds for your own personal cause, even if you're not a registered charity.

The page owner is responsible for the distribution of funds raised.

About the fundraiser
Gary Fear

Gary Fear

A bit of an avid fund raiser, having done Lands End to John O'Groats on a bike, The Ben Bevis Challenge, a Macmillan Mighty Hike and walked 100 miles in Fancy Dress for the NHS. This is my biggest challenge and my biggest opportunity to help people directly. Please help me too!

Report this Page