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Gifts show refugees of conflict they are not forgotten

An appeal by directors of a Peterborough company for vital supplies for Ukrainian victims of war has surpassed expectations.

The plea from Princebuild directors Mark Asplin and Dale Asplin raised more than £19,000 plus 1,000 Easter boxes for children – doubling their original target.

Now the two along with colleagues from local group Helping Our Ukrainian Friends are travelling to the Ukrainian and Polish border to take the donations to refugees of the conflict.

The team from Peterborough-based Princebuild about to leave for the Ukrainian border in Poland with supplies for refugees of the conflict.

They are driving four vans full of food, medicine, camping stoves and the Easter boxes to be distributed to refugee communities in Poland and front line communities in Ukraine, including villages near Bakhmut, Lyman and Sumy.

In total the group has raised about £150,000 which has been used to buy essential goods and food including:

37 generators for use by churches, schools, orphanages, charities and cafes across Ukraine
2 tonnes of general medical supplies, such as bandages, sutures, surgical gowns and gloves to the Kyiv Heart Institute
Specialist medical equipment for the Kyiv Heart Institute, particularly 15 heart valves and over 600 sutures for use in heart surgery
Head torches, power packs and hi-vis ribbons to help a charity for the deaf in Odessa
Supporting 160 Ukrainian refugee children to attend a residential summer camp in Poland, providing them with much needed respite and a range of activities with children their own age.
Supporting 90 Ukrainian refugee children to attend week-long day camps in Gliwice, Poland
Supporting financially three individual families of refugees in the first days of the war to establish their families in Poland.

Richard Astle, spokesperson for Helping Our Ukrainian Friends, said; “The people of Ukraine need our help now more than ever.

“I am constantly told that for many of the people we have helped, it is the fact that we are supporting them at all that matters.

"It demonstrates that they are not alone or forgotten. Every time we go to Poland or Ukraine, we are struck by how much help is needed and want to do more.”

Mark Asplin said: “With the opportunity to work with Helping Our Ukrainian Friends and also the chance to travel to the border and meet some of the people we are working to help, we really feel like we are making a difference.

“We have been overwhelmed by the response to our fundraising and Easter Box collection and we have far surpassed our initial targets.

"We are so pleased to be able to support the group in this way and myself and Dale are looking forward to making the trip.”

The donations will be delivered to the town of Gliwice in Poland.

From there two members of the Helping Our Ukrainian Friends team will drive as part of a convoy of Polish lorries across the border to the town of Rivne after which Ukrainian teams will distribute the supplies to communities on the front line.

The Helping Our Ukrainian Friends made its first delivery of medical supplies to the Kyiv Heart Institute in March 2022.

More details can be found on its Facebook page

Convoy heads to Ukraine after Peterborough appeal for funds and gifts exceeds expectations