We have been highlighting the updates from Simon and Alice, two individuals who took their annual holiday to the Polish-Ukraine border to help aid the humanitarian efforts on the front line, aiding refugees as they leave their homes. <br> <br> Simon and Alice have now left the border and have made their way home, and the team at Caxton would like to say thank you so much for donating to the work that Simon and Alice have been doing on the Ukraine/Poland border. They are continuing to support the work that The Para Crew is doing – and excess funds that Simon and Alice did not spend are going directly to that team on the ground. <br> <br> A message from Simon: <br> <br>
A huge thank you to Caxton.
The support we have had from Caxton and from Caxton clients has been amazing for what started as a simple desire to try and make a difference. To have had support from people who don’t even know us has been truly humbling – thank you. <br> <br> Our trip was filled with highs and lows that Alice and I will carry with us for a long time. The support we had has made a difference. We used those donations in a wide range of different ways and every penny has gone to where it was intended: <br> <br>
- Medical supplies and kit were sourced in the UK before we even departed, so much so that if we hadn’t had the Van made available by the people at Pro-Force and Mansfields we simply wouldn’t have been able to get it all there. <br> <br>
- Further medical kit such as tourniquets, chest seals, haemostatic gauze and Israeli Bandages were sourced in Poland itself and Alice arranged for delivery to the border. <br> <br>
- We bought enormous quantities of food and groceries in Poland from supermarkets and cash and carry stores that were then shipped into Ukraine and handed directly to those in need. <br> <br>
- Money was sent to a team in Ukraine who bought food in Kyiv which they were then able to distribute to outlying areas virtually cut off by the Russians along roads that had been mined and booby trapped. <br> <br>
- We sourced medicines from Italy that had to be collected from Milan and driven to the Ukraine border where they were then sorted and sent straight into Ukraine and delivered by hand to hospitals, clinics, paediatric units etc <br> <br>
- We contributed to the volunteer infrastructure in Medyka, Poland – the largest crossing point for refugees into Poland I believe. The volunteers we met were often exhausted and in need of support themselves in order to better help the Ukrainian refugees they were there to support. <br> <br>
- We bought materials to build food storage racks, shelter and bunk beds for volunteers. <br> <br>
- We contributed to a shelter being developed by one volunteer group to give respite space to people who were regularly crossing into Ukraine as part of their efforts which ranged from driving ambulances to caring for lost animals. <br> <br>
- We worked directly with groups of refugees waiting patiently in temporary accommodation and shelters in Poland for the UK government to process their visas and permissions to enter the UK. <br> <br>
- We took some refugees under our wing and successfully managed to put a few smiles back on faces by simply helping with food, luggage, shoes or a hug. <br> <br>
- We even paid the cost of an International Pet Passport for a very cute Yorkshire Terrier! <br> <br>
There is a little left in the tank and Alice is busy researching how to get further medical supplies out to Ukraine using the last of the funds whilst we will also make a donation to the Paracrew team that have so impressed us with all they are doing. <br> <br> A few memories that we just cannot seem to shake… <br> <br>
Whilst at Medyka I saw a group of four Ukrainians looking slightly lost and went over to offer support. Through a mixture of hand signals and the odd English word it was clear they didn’t want help at that time. The group was made up of an elderly couple, a boy and a young woman, the boy looked about 16 and the woman in her early 20s.
<br> I gave them space but kept an eye on them to make sure they were okay and then asked a Ukrainian speaker to check on them for me. This was Grandparents and Grandchildren and they were saying their goodbyes having crossed the border at Medyka. They all wept and hugged before the Grandparents turned around and returned to Ukraine leaving the two Grandchildren to join the refugees seeking shelter in Poland. They had to get the young man out before he got any older and became of fighting age.
<br> The heartbreak was visible and has left its mark. <br> <br>We took a group of refugees to The Mall to give them a sense of normality and to enable them to stock up on food and essentials. Amongst the group were some teenagers and I was left in charge of them whilst the Mums went shopping for groceries with Alice. <br> <br> I got them to grab a KFC and slowly established some trust, then one of them asked in broken English “can we go shopping for some stuff?”. It turned out that one of them needed underwear and socks, another needed a cheap bag to keep his most important bits in and another was in Poland with only one pair of shoes!
<br>At the border we worked with a group called Paracrew. One of the team was a great girl called Anna, a Ukrainian working overseas and with family all still near Kyiv. On our last night in Poland Anna gave a short speech and thanked everyone for all they were doing for her country, her family and her friends. As she struggled to get the words out I again had to step away as the raw emotions were overwhelming. <br> <br>
Anna is an amazing person to have met and she has been working diligently to help her fellow Ukrainians and it wasn’t until her speech that I realised how close to home it really was for her, every other member of her family was at risk and having to take shelter from daily air raid warnings. <br> <br> With our thanks, <br> Simon and Alice x