Dear all,

With the support of my BMO management (Rich, Rich & Andy) and my SSA DCM teammates filling the gaps, I have been able to spend the past month or so in the Ukraine, where I have had the pleasure of working with the small UK registered NGO team from "Operation SafeDrop" (the MAD Foundation mission name in the Ukraine), taking aid in country to people very much in need and helping to evacuate people coming from more Eastern Ukrainian towns, many having just escaped Russian controlled territories with little more than their lives and a few bags to their names.

The stories of human suffering are endless, but all these people are no different than anyone else you might know, adults leaving behind jobs, relationships (men have an issue being let out of the Russian controlled territories), close families broken up (who may not be fit enough to travel) and children who just are so sadly vacant and devoid of any joy after being shelled for months. I have watched how a kind word or small act like a chocolate bar, causes people to break down in tears. I have seen people come to thank us for helping and just begin to cry, and all the while I can only think that we should be thanking you for standing up to this madman.

For more information on Operation SafeDrop please go to their webpage: https://operationsafedrop.com/ or follow them on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn to hear and see more. Also for the time I am here, I have set up an Instagram account - Lachineboy66.

Now for the appeal... While I acknowledge that this is a tough economic time for everyone globally and we all have causes we support already, I am hoping that at the end of the week or month, if you have a few dollars, pounds or euros left that I can ask you to donate whatever you can to help this incredibly worthy cause.

Since the start of the war, Operation SafeDrop has moved over 300 van loads of aid in country and evacuated over 2,250 people. But all that has taken its toll on the vehicles which are definitely not winter ready, and it is time for them to be replaced for ones that are economic and dependable (you can imagine a vehicle breaking down 1,000km plus in country filled with scared people in subzero weather). As such, I am hoping to help raise enough to replace at least one van (which means about 6 vanloads of aid going in country and 60 persons evacuated to safety, each month), and am asking you all to help with whatever you can.

Of course, if this resonates with you, please feel free to repost, like or forward because every penny counts as does raising awareness of this dreadful war.

Hopefully this finds all well, thank you for taking the time to read all this and see you at the start of January!

em

#bmo, #bmogrowthegood,#wecare, #operationsafedrop

NB: JUST GIVING, AT THE END OF THE DONATION PROCESS, ASKS FOR AN OPTIONAL DONATION. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOTHING TO DO WITH OPERATION SAFEDROP AND IS TOTALLY AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION (JUST TO MAKE CLEAR THAT THIS IS NOT LINKED TO THE FUNDRAISING - CAN SET TO 1.00 OR NOTHING ALSO).

NB: Non-UK residents "you can donate from anywhere in the world in one of five currencies: British pounds, US dollars, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars and Euros" but cannot benefit from the tax break (at the end of donation process) of UK GIFT AID.