Towcester community to send out huge haul of aid destined for Ukraine

A long standing aid initiative in Towcester is sending off more than £13,000 of medical and humanitarian aid to the Ukraine.

The Towcester community has been busy raising funds and essential support for Ukraine and this will be the third trip set to depart in recent months.

The three day trip, where two vehicles will be driving in excess of 1,300 miles, is set to depart on February 10 and will be driven by Oleh Naida, Alex Donaldsn, Paul Parsons and Charles Manners.

Paul Parsons has very much been the driving force behind the fundraising for this aid initiative and said: “Like many of us, I had been wondering how to provide some small measure of support to the brave people of Ukraine. After teaming up with Steve Challen and his wife, Paula who is rector of the parishes of the Tove Benefice, we coordinated substantial aid contributions in Towcester and the surrounding villages. Everyone has been extremely generous.

“To make this journey possible I have teamed up with Oleh, a Ukrainian guest staying in Towcester with his wife Uliana and children. As with Oleh’s previous journeys back to his home city of Lviv, we will be leaving the two pick up vehicles to assist with the humanitarian and military effort. I will be accompanied by my good friend and Blakesley neighbour, West Northants Councillor Charles Manners, who will share with me the driving and challenges we may face along the way”.

Oleh will be joined by Alex Donaldson in his vehicle. Alex lives in Towcester, and in April last year completed an aid drive to the Skycamp refugee centre in Northern Poland on behalf of the Tove Benefice. He has been keen since to support Oleh in one of his drives into Ukraine and will provide help with the drive, especially with previous trips seeing events of a breakdown and needing to be towed off a motorway.

An initial fundraising target set by Paul of £10,000 was soon exceeded, with funds raised now totalling more than £30,000. This will not only ensure that the two pick-ups go full with quality priority items, but will now also enable the purchase of a further pickup and aid for a drive to Ukraine in March.

The two vehicles have been personally purchased by Oleh and Paul, and all transport and travel costs are being borne by the team members. So, every penny raised has been used to buy here in the UK the items that have been requested by their contacts in Ukraine.

Paul said: “Each vehicle is being filled with quality medical and humanitarian aid which has been specifically requested by our contacts on the front line, and for this trip we have packed more than 2,000 individual items, including: two generators and various forms of power packs, 93 lifesaving tourniquets, hundreds of major trauma field bandages including specialist trauma, clotting bandages, 48 emergency stretchers, boxes of hospital equipment, hundreds of ration pack meals, over 300 humanitarian infant items and many thermal and warm items.

“All these items have been strategically sourced by Steve at discounted bulk rates to ensure that maximum volumes are purchased, or donated and that everything we take is good quality too.”

Paul added: “When received in Lviv, the aid will be passed to Oleh’s trusted volunteer aid network member, Iryna Vovk, who will distribute it where needs are greatest amongst frontline communities and brigades, which are currently those in Bakhmut, Luhansk, and Maryinka.

“Typically, the aid is transferred to the frontline within a few weeks, however the need at present is particularly urgent, so we expect at least one of the vehicles to be driven a further 700 miles to the south of Ukraine within a day of our arrival”.

During the packing of the vehicles Dame Andrea Leadsom MP, and Towcester Mayor Martin Johns met with drivers to see the aid items which had been purchased using the generous donations that had been received, and to wish the men good luck on their long journey.

MP Andrea Leadsom said: “This is a superb effort by many in our area to support the war effort in Ukraine. I met up with the drivers at the vicarage at St Lawrence’s Church in Towcester to wish them 'bon voyage' ahead of their drive to Lviv. The team is doing amazing life-changing work and these items will go a long way in helping those on the front-line of the war in Ukraine.”

Many people, businesses and organisations have been involved with donating items and funds to the initative over the past year and have supported the other trips that Oleh has made. The Tove Benefice has been working to raise money through various events, with a Vicarage Fete and Open Gardens, selling ribbons and sunflowers, a concert and hosting families. Schools, such as Stoke Bruerne Primary School have made donations with collections and there has been a large amount of donations made at various drop offs by the villages and community of Towcester. The Star Inn in Sulgrave raised money with raffles where a number of businsses donated generous raffle prizes.

Once this trip has been successfully completed, Paul and Oleh’s focus will shift to purchasing and filling their third joint pickup. Donations towards the next aid drive can be made via the below link, the Towcester Tove Benefice website, or by calling the Benefice office on 01327 350459.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/towcester-ukraine-february-drive

www.andrealeadsom.com/news/60223/towcester-to-lviv-aid-drive