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Ukraine War, 2 Years On…A Volunteers Perspective.
24th February 2022 was the morning my life changed forever. I woke that morning to the breaking news that Ukraine air raid sirens were sounding & that the invasion had started. Stunned silence, a feeling of numbness & a whole load of mixed emotions is all I could describe. One year earlier, April 2021 was when I was last in Ukraine for the 35th Anniversary of Chornobyl & I never thought less than a year later the country would be at war. I had planned to go the April of 2022 for the 36th Anniversary with a friend who lived in both Ukraine & UK but now there was no way that would happen.
It was time to start getting information on what was happening from a ground level, so I was messaging Ukrainian friends, the news was on 24/7, because at this point, I had taken some time out from work so I spent my days messaging, waiting for messages to come in, friends were fleeing from the first day, some later on.
One friend I was in constant contact with, many times a day they would be going to the bomb shelter, others were more sporadic messaging, one close friend I heard nothing from for 6 weeks, I did not know if the were alive or dead.
Another close friend I supported financially until they got to Poland & settled, the one day 6 weeks in I heard from my friend, they were alive! Such a relief, a rush of emotions, what about those that was not so lucky? The horror what was happening day to day to the people, the country & a country I love, this was now day to day life for Ukraine.
Action was needed, support was needed, so we move on….it was time to get out there, so via social media & the groups that had developed, I started going out with vehicles & aid via I group I got involved with & see the realities of war first hand. I was now a volunteer & proud of it, but that comes with sacrifices, I use all my leave from work, no holidays as one was used to but that’s nothing compared to the good work the volunteer community do. People often ask me why do I do it? Is it not dangerous? Wont you be killed? The answers are simple, I do it because it needs to be done & I do it for a country I love, my friends in Ukraine & the people of Ukraine. If people like me don’t do it then who will? Yes, it can be dangerous & theres always a risk going to a war zone, but you get used to it & now I don’t even think about it. For the first couple of trips, one may tend too, but now I don’t.
It can be difficult for family & friends to understand as to why & others have great admiration & respect for what I & other volunteers do. It was on a mission I met Dafydd, he came along & over several missions we became great friends & the is how Trident Aid was born. Sometimes something good can come out of tragedy, the side people do not see is the hard work that goes on behind the scenes, the long hours of organising, fundraising, getting people to support what you are doing, using every opportunity to acquire aid for the next mission.
Then theres the mission itself, the nonstop drive to Ukraine, the delivery of the aid, the vehicles & all the emotions that go along with it, once all that’s completed, its mission done & we start over for the next.
Do I feel I do enough? Never, I would like to go more often than every 6-8 weeks but life in the UK has to carry on, so I am able to do what I can do for Ukraine.
Every donation, no matter how large or small goes to making a difference so If you feel you are able & can support what we do, its greatly appreciated.
