The intrepid trio, Malcolm, Bob and Russ from New Romney, are back safe and sound from their mission to take aid to Ukraine and are planning their next trip. Most people would be sitting back and resting after their demanding trip, but not these three.
Malcolm summed it up: “You cannot help being moved by the plight of the Ukrainians, and their willingness to carry on as best they can and to help each other is humbling to watch. We always receive such a warm welcome and they look after us so well. We are going back because we know that we make a difference to their lives. The date isn’t fixed yet but we will keep you all informed. Russ kept a daily record of what we were doing each day and below are a few excerpts. One major highlight for us was being able to deliver a generator to the Food Station at Chernivtsi. They operate a food kitchen serving hot meals for six days a week. The generator will enable them to carry on their wonderful work even during power cuts. We are always on the look-out for any other generators and even if they are not in working order I can generally breathe life into them.”
Russ Feakins’ diary: “On Tuesday January 24 we visited the orphanage. It was one young lad’s birthday and receiving two teddies made him so happy. The bears were donated by Carl Fearon who is an ex-serviceman of the 2nd. Queen’s Regiment. The girls loved the hats and gloves which were given by Coxheath village, Maidstone. The children got in such a muddle trying to get their fingers in the right place – it was very funny and caused lots of laughter because they had been used to mittens. Bob and I returned to Chernivtsi to help in the food kitchen and served over 250 meals. We went afterwards to a church service where four pastors led the prayers.
“On Wednesday I met up with the American contingent of FightforFreedom to take food packages to Kamyanets Podilskyi, a beautiful mediaeval town where we were greeted by a long queue of people waiting for the parcels. After handing out 1,500 we were invited to the Mayor’s office for tea. We then headed to Dunaivski where we handed out another 800 parcels. I heard my first missile alert siren.”
How can the people and businesses of Rye and district help these crusaders?
First, money would be really welcome to help with petrol and ferry crossings. Whilst we were travelling on the last journey we had to buy four new snow tyres to be able to complete the journey safely.
Warm clothes, and boots and shoes are desperately needed for those who have lost everything.
Generators mean so much to the organisations who are helping with supply depots and food stations.
Please contact Malcolm Maynard on his Facebook page or by phone 07746 146782 and give as generously as you can.
If you missed the first part of the story follow this link
https://www.ryenews.org.uk/living/romney-crusaders-take-help-to-ukraine
Image Credits: Malcolm Maynard , Malcolm Maynard , Russ Feakins .