12 pallets on way as last ‘Mums4Ukraine’ lorry sets off for Poland
The fourth and last transport from Impact Furniture in Sandy left for Ukraine this week, as organisers turned their attention to providing vehicular assistance to the war-torn north of the country.
The 12 large pallets of goods were prepared and loaded on to a lorry by a team at Impact Furniture in Sandy. Six palettes had come from initiatives by Mums 4 Ukraine, founded by Cambridge-based Agnes Toth and Rend Platings, and six from collections organised by Emma Fitzgerald, from Stourbridge Community Ukrainian Response.
The company’s director and one of the organisers of the shipment, Julia Kedziora, said following the departure: “The lorry had been loaded and goods left for Poland – 9,600kg of donation ranging from sanitary products to art supplies will be redistributed amongst Ukrainians.
“Half of the load had been specifically collected in response to a request received by Mums4Ukraine. That part of the load will leave Warsaw and travel via Lviv to the north of Ukraine, to Nosivka, a village in Chernihiv region with a large number of disabled children and adults.
“The further six pallets of mainly food supplies had been destined for Warsaw, to support canteens and pop-up aid centres in Warsaw. Izabela Szostak-Smith, deputy mayor of Praga Południe district at the capital city of Warsaw, is coordinating efforts of welcoming displaced Ukrainians. She reached out for aid as there was a point when only crackers and jam were available at the canteens. Emma from Stourbridge managed to gather huge donation of dry food which will arrive in Warsaw this Friday.
“The remaining aid of nappies, first aid kits, blankets, dry food and sanitary products is destined for Uniters Charity who recently received recognition of their work from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
“Stand with Ukraine Against War Foundation are immensely grateful to all the individuals and organisations who combined their efforts and made the delivery of this support possible.”
The storage, transport and physical loading was completed and paid for by Stand with Ukraine Against War foundation, with donations collected in Cambourne.
Julia stresses that “this is all is a team effort and many have joined up to make it happen”.
“Ryunosuke Satoro’s quote sums it up perfectly,” she says of the Japanese writer’s saying: “‘Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean’.”
- The storage, transport and physical loading is being done and paid for by Stand with Ukraine Against War foundation, with donations collected in Cambourne
- Impact Furniture donated staff and their time to physically palletise and load the goods
- The lorry was booked by Kamila Kaliszewska from Polish-based logistical company QLS
- Francesco from Aromi Cambridge organised the transportation from Emma from Stourbridge to us so that loads can be joined up
Julia added: “This is the final physical transport that Stand with Ukraine Against War Foundation is organising and managing. Following this, I will move onto monetary donations for specific causes, such as fundraising for a 4x4 all-terrain vehicle for Ukrainian army.”
The Uniters foundation has supported Ukrainians since 2014. The next step involves assistance with materiel.
“The Uniters charity is receiving this lorry of aid and redistributing further to the north of Ukraine,” says Julia. “I have a trusting relationship with them and [when] we talked about current needs, the need for a 4x4 came up as a repetitive need by many of the state army as well as territorial army.
“Trucks need to be 10 years old so that they are mostly mechanical and can be repaired by the skilled car mechanic when in the field. Newer models have too much electronics in them so parts are hard to source.”
