24th September 2024 – Sunflower team delivered 64 winter wellies and seven boxes of winter clothes for refugees from Vovchansk (humanitarian aid from Scotland). People escaped to Novooleksandrivka, a village 13 miles south-east from this war-torn town.
We drove from Scotland delivering aid first in Kryvyi Rih, then in Pershotravensk, finally reaching Kharkiv on the evening of the 23rd September. From here, we brought humanitarian aid (of course, absolutely for free) to Novooleksandrivka.
A month ago we were in Novooleksandrivka delivering food aid. Halyna (head of the village administration) told us that they welcomed refugees from Vovchansk. This town has such a tragic fate. It was occupied by the Russians on the first days of the war, and liberated by Ukraine after heavy fighting on 11th September 2022. But in May 2024 the Russians entered it again with a massive force. They couldn’t capture it, and through the hellish fighting that followed, the town was reduced to rubble.
Poor residents fled with next to nothing. Those who had money, went to Kharkiv and west Ukraine. But if you know Ukraine, you know that now safe areas in Ukraine are vastly expensive. Landlord profit from the refugees. Those who were poor went to the local villages, because it’s much cheaper to live there. In Ukraine, poverty and old age come together. Most refugees are older, in poor health.
Halyna said to us that the no.1 top priority thing was warm wellies. It was still warm, but from October when the rains start, wellies is an absolute necessity. Warm and insulated, this footwear is what older people prefer. Sunflower team purchased 64 pairs of winter wellies of the right sizes, and brought them for the refugees.
Scotland is full of kind and wonderful people. They collected warm items to help those in need.
We thank Tranent Parish Church for collecting and donating winter jackets, sweaters, scarves, gloves and warm blankets. We’d like to thank everyone and especially Rev. Katherine Taylor. We separated t-shirts (2 boxes) and gave them to soldiers, and packed warm items (7 big boxes) for the refugees in Novooleksandrivka.
Getting to Novooleksandrivka is not easy. The main road from Kharkiv to the village went via Vovchansk. For obvious reasons, now it is a war zone. Another road is a 20-mile dirt track through the fields. It is OK now on a dry day – but what it will be in the winter? How will people get food? It seems there will be more work for us.
These are photos of the local residents of Novooleksandrivka who received the winter wellies:
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