Keith Davies
Keith's Driving refugees from Ukraine
Fundraising for IRT
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
I'm one of a number of volunteers working with EdenAid, driving minibuses to the Poland-Ukraine border with dontated supplies, and then driving back with refugees who have been matched with sponsor families here in the UK.
Everyone involved in this is an unpaid volunteer, but fuel, insurance, Eurotunnel etc still cost money so there inevitable overheads. It costs us around £2000 per minibus trip.
Some background:
The people we are focused on are the vulnerable. In particular - the ones that can’t fly. Be they old, sick or disabled, very late in pregnancy, have pets, mums with several small kids or just have a fear of flying.
It’s very humbling and hugely emotional helping these vulnerable human beings. They are just like you and I, except for ... what they’ve gone through. Almost entirely just women and children, ripped from their homes, leaving behind their sons, dads, husbands. Carrying often not more than a borrowed suitcase - all that is left from their past life. They tell us their stories -- Sasha from Bucha whose car has been shot at as they escaped, her mum having 9 bullet wounds. Lera with a two-month-old baby Sophia whose house was bombed to the ground. Olena, with 5 children between 3 and 14, who have never been out of their little village in Ukraine, and now are in a hostel in Warsaw. Lidia from Mariupol, who was deported to Russia, travelled with volunteers out and has nothing to return to and nothing left... you get the picture.
It’s very humbling and hugely emotional helping these vulnerable human beings. They are just like you and I, except for ... what they’ve gone through. Almost entirely just women and children, ripped from their homes, leaving behind their sons, dads, husbands. Carrying often not more than a borrowed suitcase - all that is left from their past life. They tell us their stories -- Sasha from Bucha whose car has been shot at as they escaped, her mum having 9 bullet wounds. Lera with a two-month-old baby Sophia whose house was bombed to the ground. Olena, with 5 children between 3 and 14, who have never been out of their little village in Ukraine, and now are in a hostel in Warsaw. Lidia from Mariupol, who was deported to Russia, travelled with volunteers out and has nothing to return to and nothing left... you get the picture.
There is a continuous stream of refugees coming – for many reasons but in particular:
• We are finally seeing people coming out of the East, Kharkiv, Mariupol etc .. , making it to the West and securing visas for the UK;
• The pet licensing system has been a fiasco, but it is finally starting to resolve itself and licenses are now being received – the only way to get into the UK with a pet is in a vehicle … you can’t fly, take the train or go on a ferry as a walk-on passenger; and
• Many that originally stayed behind are now realising the war is far from over and so are now deciding to leave – with Kyiv coming under attack again after many weeks this will undoubtedly trigger a new surge;
We are entirely reliant on people and organisations lending us or sponsoring 9-Seater minibuses (that’s the biggest vehicle we are allowed to drive in Europe) and on donations from supporters to help fund the running costs of the trips.
PS – if you have a 9-seater “minibus or MPV” that you can lend us for a week or two then please please please get in touch – just email me [email redacted].
PPS – just FYI - It costs us £2,000 per week to rent and run one of our minibuses (rent is around £750 and the running costs are £1,250 for each vehicle).
PPPS - we've partnered with the International Refugee Trust (IRT) so that we can secure Gift Aid from all the money we raise from UK tax payers. All the money raised here and in general for Ukraine comes directly to us.