Nine tonnes of humanitarian aid donated by generous North Tyneside residents has arrived in war-ravaged Ukraine and will now be distributed to those most in need.
The consignment, including food, desperately needed medical supplies, clothes, sanitary products and bedding, arrived in Lviv in western Ukraine on Monday via Lithuania and Poland.
Now the team behind the shipment – Newcastle Rubbish Taxi - is preparing to send another nine tonnes of much needed supplies collected from across North Tyneside to the border city of Lviv, which has found itself at the centre of Ukrainian war preparations and refugee movements since Russia’s invasion on February 24.
Read more: Nine tonnes of humanitarian aid heads for Ukraine from North Tyneside - with more to follow
One of the organisers, Irina Fedonina, said: “We’re really pleased, especially given how far it has had to go. There is always a slight worry that it might not go to where it is supposed to go.
"When it arrived we could breathe a sigh of relief. Finally it is there and it will now go to the places it is most needed.”
An articulated lorry packed with this initial consignment of aid left the North East on March 12. It changed vehicles in Lithuania before being driven through central Europe to Poland and then on to Lviv.
The aid was collected in little more than a week following an appeal by Newcastle Rubbish Taxi, which is run by Irina’s husband Minda Gaudiesius and his business partner Andrei Prutkovas. Andrei’s wife Svetlana Galiamova has also been involved in the mammoth humanitarian aid effort, which has seen hundreds of North Tyneside residents and businesses dig deep to help.
Irina said they had been overwhelmed by people’s generosity. But as they prepare for the next supply shipment to head-off, she said the time has come to draw a line under the operation.
“It has taken over our lives. We haven’t slept more than five hours at night or taken more than a couple of hours off during the day, and we can’t carry on like that. We need to get back on track.”
But she has nothing but praise for the way the people of North Tyneside have responded to what is happening in Ukraine. “We are really thankful for the people who donated as well as the people who came to help pack everything.
"So many people have been involved, not only in the giving of donations but in giving us premises to hold everything. We have not had any help from the Government or the local authority.
"It has all been achieved through the help of friends, of friends, of friends. Hundreds of people have been involved, and we couldn’t have done any of this without them.”
Initially the team was loaned space at an office building in Team Valley, Gateshead, but has now moved all the donations to a new location in Cramlington in preparation for the next consignment leaving for Ukraine, where it will link-up with a charity working on the ground in Lviv.
The situation for children and families still trapped in Ukraine is becoming increasingly desperate as Russian forces continue to bombard the already devastated city of Mariupol, Kharkiv, the capital Kyiv, and other urban areas. The Black Sea port of Odesa is also now coming under attack.
Since the conflict escalated on February 24, families have been sheltering underground, cut off from basic services. Hospitals and maternity wards have had to move into basements. And across Ukraine millions of people are now without safe drinking water, food or medicines.
The supplies that have arrived from North Tyneside included two pallets each of sanitary products, baby food, dried provisions, rucksacks and toiletries, six pallets of clothes, seven of nappies and one of baby wipes. On top of that 1,150 sleeping bags, 1,300 bedding mats, 900 blankets and 250 pillows were also included.
The aid will be used to provide much needed support for women, children and health care workers.
Irina said: “What we have sent is real help that people will get. All I can say is thank you to everyone who has been involved. Together we have made a difference.”
