As members of St Lawrence Church in Towcester ( part of the Tove Benefice of churches), a small team of individuals have been collecting and transporting humanitarian and medical aid to Ukraine since March, 2022. This has included completing / supporting regular aid drives into Ukraine, facilitated by Oleh Naida, a Ukraine national who is temporarily living in Towcester with his family after they fled their country when it was invaded. These drives have included the delivery of multiple 4x4 pickups and 2 ex-NHS ambulances in 2023 - both of which remain in active service with paramedic teams to this day.

Our small team of drivers are now planning to purchase either a further ambulance to drive the 1350 miles to Lviv, where it will be handed over to our trusted Ukrainian aid volunteer who will take it onward to a medical team who's vehicle has either failed or been destroyed. As before, the team plan for the vehicle to be filled with rehabilitation aid, and the team appeal for unwanted medical items such as bandages, wound paddings, catheters, and mobility aids such as crutches and wheelchairs. These items will be taken approx. 550 miles south of Lviv to Mykolaiv where there is a rehabilitation hospital treating soldiers who have been badly wounded on the frontline. (Often the NHS will not take back or recycle these items, yet Ukraine will, as there is unfortunately such a huge need).

In conjunction with this drive the drivers will also be supporting the Ukrainian charitable organisation, Metta NGO, whom they connected with during their June drive. Metta organise mountain based rehabilitation therapy trips for military veterans in Lviv region’s Carpathian Mountains. In addition to the military, the families and relatives of the deceased heroes can also participate. Specialists, including psychologists, accompany the participants during the mountain stay where individuals are encouraged to join hikes and connect with nature as a start of their healing process.

The cost of these two initiatives will be in the region of £9,000. The drivers and others generous donors will be funding a significant portion of this cost from their own monies, hence a reduced fundraising gap target of £2,500.

Thank you for supporting us,

Oleh Naida, Alex Donaldson, John Bend, and Steve Challen