A lorry leaving from East Lothian has made its way to war-torn Ukraine with vital supplies for struggling families.
Dad Krzysztof Sieniuc, 39, who works as a driver for East Lothian buses, has said that various organisations from AUGB Edinburgh (a Ukrainian support hub), Scottish prepaid baby box Ukraine and the Dunbar Rotary Club as well as everyday people have come together to donate vital items for those facing the Russian invasion.
Their latest lorry load left from Musselburgh on Thursday July 7 and was filled with useful products such as nappies, ready meals, medical supplies, baby boxes and even potatoes from local farmers.
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This is understood to be the 18th lorry to be organised by this collection of organisations. It is understood that they have been delivering important supplies to the cities of Lyviv, Kyiv and Poltava. The lorry drivers and transportation are organised by various companies, with organisations like AUGB Edinburgh helping to raise funds to meet the costs of fuel.
Krzysztof, who has family in Ukraine, has tried to help as best he can with the various donations, he explains the issues facing those close to him in Ukraine - including his wife's mother.
He said: “Our mom is alone. She stays in a small village close to Poltava. She made herself shelter in her garden in case there was any bombing close to her home.
“She can't travel to the city much as there is no fuel in the area. So she is using a bicycle to go to a local village shop about 5km from her home to get the things she needs.
“It's not easy for her as she has arthritis. Usually we go for our holidays in Ukraine at this time of year but there are no flights so we can't go there to help. She can't come over to see her daughters and grandson which is hard.
“We also have some family in Kyiv and they work for a farming company that looks after about 70 percent of farming land in Ukraine. They say that it is almost impossible to farm anything as Russians have put explosive mines around the fields and that they had a few tractor drivers injured and killed.
“The items we are sending away to Ukraine are mainly food, like potatoes from local farmers, ready meals from Paisley Box, water from Scottish Water, baby food, dry food and pets food from local people. There are also first aid items, nappies, baby boxes that were provided by Glasgow personal hygiene and wet wipes and medical equipment to help injured people.”
Krzysztof says that all of these items are needed as there are families that have lost everything. He adds that nappies have been sought after as there are a number of single mums with children that need urgent support.
He added: “This is the 18th lorry that has been organised to take goods from across Scotland to Ukraine. We started working together at the beginning of the invasion and my family and I have decided to start collecting items and deliver them whenever charities say they are collecting.
“Everyone has struggled with transport. So my sister in law, who is Ukrainian, and my wife got in touch with our friends in Ukraine and they have helped us to find companies who were willing to take the Humanitarian Aid back to Ukraine if we would cover fuel costs.
“As a result various organisations and individuals started asking around and found few ways of getting fuel or sponsors to cover the costs of transport. With time we found more and more people who are willing to help.
“This includes AUGB Edinburgh which is a Ukrainian community hub run by people with a Ukrainian background. There are various companies who are helping us with transport and they are normally Ukrainian - Brother Parcel who are based in the UK help us with the necessary paperwork too.
“Donations in Ukraine are received by our trusted volunteers in various locations, who then distribute the aid to people who need it. As I mentioned, we have family back in Ukraine and every day we are checking on them to see if they are still alive.
“We are constantly worrying about people who lost everything over there and that is why we are trying to help them in any way we can. The biggest difficulty in Ukraine at the moment is every day bombing, lack of fuel and lack of food.”
Those looking to support the family and others in their attempts to help send lorries to Ukraine with vital aid and support can do so by visiting their GoFundMe here.
You can learn more about AUGB Ukraine by visiting their Facebook page here.
You can also learn more about Scottish Preloved Baby Box for Ukraine by visiting their Facebook page here.
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