I've raised £15000 to continue to supply the people of Ukraine with life saving medical and humanitarian aid

Organised by Joseph Grixoni

Story

We are an independent team of volunteers working in Ukraine to provide immediate medical and humanitarian relief direct to the areas and people that need it most.

To date we have completed 3 deliveries of high end medical equipment and aid worth tens of thousands of pounds and using our 2 vans and network of people across Ukraine, we were recently able to directly reach units fighting on the front line in Kharkiv.

The network of people that we are working with extends to over 30 people. with the help of friends we have made in groups such as Peoples Trust (Громадська довіра) ,The Angels of War Foundation, The Mayor of Bucha, World Extreme Medicine, MP Vadym Ivchenko, a number of medics, ambulance crew and other independent volunteers that go directly into the heat to deliver what is needed most, where it is needed the most. We are also in direct contact with a number of soldiers in both the Ukranian Army and International Legion fighting in the Donbas.

We are just one of the many independent groups working in Ukraine, but we all work together for the same purpose. The nature of this war means that volunteers like ourselves play a vital role in supplying independent fighters, soldiers on the front lines, as well as civilians and children caught up in the areas torn apart by the fighting.

Soldiers win battles, but logistics win wars.

Our network of contacts grows each trip, as do the locations we are able to supply to. Thanks to our friends and contacts working , several brave soldiers and medics currently fighting in the Donbas, the Mayor of Bucha, MP Vadym Ivhcenko but probably most importantly, our network of Ukrainian civilian fixers all across Ukraine.

We have been fortunate enough to have a number of people who are able to donate medical equipment to us (Thank you Adam and everyone at The Bath Clinic). We are providing the logistical side transporting it from the UK into Ukraine and the Peoples Trust are passing it on to The Angels of War who then drive it directly into the front. The brave gentleman in centre of the photo above is pictured taking a portion of the medical equipment that we supplied on our first trip in early April to Kherson.

Above: Myself handing over CAT tourniquets, chest seals, CELOX A, SAM splints, bandages and haemostatic dressings to soldiers in Kharkiv, 15 miles from the frontlines on our last delivery in July.

As well as providing direct medical supplies, we also deliver humanitarian aid to communities hit hard by the war, as well as to Internally Displaced People (IDPs, refugees within their own country) in multiple locations.

Above: Me and Phil hand delivering aid to IDPs from Mariupol and Severdonetsk at a temporary camp in Kyiv.

During our second trip, we delivered aid into Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel only a couple of weeks after the invading Russians had been pushed out. It was here I witnessed first hand the true devastation of this war. For miles and miles on end, buildings were in ruins. Tower blocks with holes punched right through them, entire blocks of flats levelled. Extreme damage for miles and miles and miles. The road was torn from the tank tracks and there were many bomb craters that we had to avoid. Burned out military vehicles and cars riddled with bullet holes lined the road along with signs warning of mines. It was awful.

We then arrived in Bucha, where the Russians had recently committed unspeakable crimes upon the innocent people living there.

As I didn't have a contact in Bucha, I decided my best bet was the local council building, so we went there. Through the power of google translate, I managed to get the attention of the Mayor of Bucha (who I am still in contact with) took us to a local children's clinic that needed help.

The clinic had been ravaged by the Russian soldiers, they had stolen all of their computers and laptops and medical equipment and just trashed the place needlessly, but staff that worked there spent a week cleaning up already and are making do with whatever they could.

Proud to say we were one of the first to get humanitarian aid into there.

I am looking to cover the costs of a further deliveries. We have the ability to secure the specific vital items in quantity as well as being able to liaise with those who on the ground as to what is needed, we have the transport on both ends, we are able to get into local communities, we mainly just need help covering the costs. I have set an ambitious goal as I would like to maximise the help that we can bring. What we cant get through donations, we must purchase ourselves, and purchasing even cheap items at the quantities needed is expensive.

With all money left over from this, I would like to fund the other groups of volunteers continuing to work on the ground

All in including fuel, ferry tickets, insurance cost for both vans for the previous trip was £4000, which we successfully crowdfunded previously (thank you everybody that donated, you are all shining stars)

The total costs of everything that we have put in so far ourselves is now almost £10000

The difference that little boats like ours working independently of any red tape or legislation makes to the people of Ukraine is quite literally life saving. The equipment we bring is being used to save the lives of soldiers and civilians on the frontlines of Putin's barbaric and needless war. Our kit is not sat in a warehouse for weeks on end, or takes months to prepare and ship, it gets there within days of us getting there. The humanitarian aid immediately as we hand deliver it.

Here is a photo of a small part of the medical kit we have supplied so far:

And here are the people it ends up with, within 48 hours of us arriving in Ukraine:

I'm incredibly proud to be working alongside some of the bravest humans I've ever seen to make a real difference to the people of Ukraine quickly and effectively, whilst also being able to share the journey and what life is like for the people living through this.

Every donation, no matter how big or small really helps make a massive difference to how much we are able to help, and I appreciate every single one of you that has donated so far. Seriously I cant believe the level of support we have received from so many people. You are amazing!!

Once again, thank you all so much

If you want to get in contact, or keep up with us while we're out there, you can find me here

Слава Україні!