In the early hours of Thursday 24th February 2022, I woke to a very bad dream and looked at my phone to check time. There was a message from my sister: “When you wake up, don’t be scared. Try to comfort mum as much as it is possible. Kyiv is getting bombed. We are leaving for the village.” That was the start of the horrible aggression against Ukraine. It took my sister, Lena, and her family around 36 hours instead of usual 5 to reach the village where our parents live now. Whilst staying in the village, Lena managed to help to evacuate and house 5 families of her friends from Kyiv. Days were spent cooking food and taking it to the evacuation trains to feed people.

My cousin, Iryna, and her family, including my 7 year-old niece, stayed in Kyiv for 3 nights. Even when it all started, the realisation of what was happening was not coming. Iryna’s husband is English but they chose Kyiv to be their home and they have always lived there. They sealed the windows and spent 3 days in the corridor of their newly-decorated apartment telling the little one that the weather was really bad and all the sounds were coming from the thunderstorm raging outside. Three days later, when a rocket hit a block of apartments 300 meters away from them, they made a decision to leave. They managed to evacuate by train to western Ukraine and then crossed the border to Romania where they received a very warm welcome and support.

Leaving Kyiv was not an option for my cousin Max. His wife was heavily pregnant and they were expecting the delivery at any time. Our little Bogdan was born in the basement of the hospital on the sixth day of war. The story of my cousin and other couples in this war-style maternity ward was covered by Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/04/russia-putin-kyiv/?fbclid=IwAR0acurA327LF5IMBEGjdO_SqcwMmo4nYG3-mFDS1wCy4ylVaGNe0__YGjo Two days later they evacuated to our parents’ village. As Max said, we heard a lot of stories from our grandmother about war and none of us could ever imagine that our generation and our children would relive the horrors of war and that the war would be inflicted on Ukraine by Russia.

We thought that the village would be a safe base but nowhere is safe in Ukraine right now! My sister saw a big missile flying low above her head, within the next hour it became known that Vinnitsa airport, only 40 miles away, got hit. A few days later, the remains of the shot missile fell down just outside of the village.

Pain, despair and sense of helplessness were replaced by the desire to do something, to help, to STAND WITH UKRAINE.

Dmytro, fellow Ukrainian, from Woodland Coffee Shop who also has family and friends stuck in Kharkiv. He similarly found out the terrifying news in circumstances close to mine. I saw him on the doorsteps of our shop at Schmidt Brentwood with the same intentions – we need to do something! We started working together on collecting help for Ukraine. The support and kind words that we continue to receive are overwhelming! We are deeply humbled by how Brentwood and wider Essex community came together to help. Last week, with the help from people of Brentwood and wider Essex, family, friends, Brentwood Mutual Aid, Brentwood Borough Council and local businesses, we sent 20 tonne lorry of humanitarian aid directly to Ukraine. The lorry reached Lviv successfully. Kharkiv volunteers, the intended recipients of help, made arrangements for further transportation of the donations to Kharkiv.

Millions of Ukrainians were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in shelters and safer places away from homes. Millions of women, children and elderly fled the country leaving their sons, husbands and fathers fight for Ukraine, for their homes, their lives.

Since we started collecting the donations and sending help to Ukraine, we get contacted by organisations and volunteer groups providing help and support to Ukrainian people asking for specific items needed in each of the areas. To be able to assist them with food, medical and protective equipment supplies as well as transportation to Ukraine, we need your help. Only united together, we will be able to help and play part in reinstatement of peace in Ukraine. There is so much we can do right now!

Here are some of the ways in which you can assist:

 By making a donation to this JustGiving page

 By dropping your donation to one of the points listed below:

 Schmidt Brentwood, 71 High Street, Brentwood

 Woodland Coffee Shop, 37 Ongar Road, Brentwood

 By ordering items from Amazon HELP FOR UKRAINE wish list: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/2667JGWZAQF33?ref_=wl_share

 By sharing this information.

When there is help, there is hope. Where there is love, there is life.

STAND WITH UKRAINE!