| | | | | | | | February 24, 2024 marks the two-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
The war has resulted in massive displacement, extensive destruction, and profound human suffering. Over 14 million persons, nearly 35 per cent of the population, have been forced to flee from their homes, seeking refuge both within Ukraine and beyond.
This has resulted in the separation of families, abandonment of homes, and loss of possessions, and has exacerbated numerous protection risks for displaced people. Sadly, the toll stands at more than ten thousand civilian deaths, including over 560 children.
( Soda Federico Director, Department of Humanitarian Response and Recovery - Institute of Migration)
More statistics can be seen in the graphic below, an interactive chart courtesy of ACAPS, that can be accessed by heading to the master dataset dashboard on the Ukraine page of this excellent resource, not only for Ukraine but conflict around the globe. | | | It is of course with great sadness that things have not improved for the people of Ukraine in the past 12 months. We live in a time of conflict, where wars are not just in the far corners of the world but on our doorstep, a drive away. Recent events in the Middle East also show that things can escalate at any time and as a humanitarian aid charity we need to be ready to help in any situation that we can.
Whilst we all wish that the fighting will end soon, the reality I am sure most of us realise is that this is a long battle, with little sign of an ending. A recent poll in The Guardian shows that the majority of Europeans believe that a compromise settlement is the most likely outcome, as the ability to continue funding this war becomes more and more complicated.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy operates a Ukraine support tracker which shows that the EU for example has only allocated €77 billion of the €144 billion committed to the region.
The conflict, as all conflicts are, is a very political one, and with 76 elections worldwide this year, more than any year in history, the support or lack of is part of many political parties manifesto. Decisions about aid, weapons and funding will not rely on humanitarian need but instead on how to win votes.
Two of those countries are the USA and Russia. Despite the untimely death of Alexei Navalny, the winner in Russia is not in question. The USA however, is far less certain and which direction that will take the conflict is one that few people would care to guess. | | | At Hope and Aid Direct all we can do is to do what we have done for over 25 years, which is to deliver life saving and hope inducing aid to those most in need.
At the start of the conflict as most of you know, we teamed up with Ukraine on Palms, led by the remarkable Alla Nalyvaiko, who have helped us with the vast majority of the trucks that have gone to the region. | | | We are currently in process of consolidating our next load which is due to leave in the first 2 weeks of March.
This will be our 53rd truck that we have either sent ourselves or have organised on behalf of other donors and NGO's. To put that into context that is one truck every two weeks for the past two years, an amazing achievement for an organisation of our size.
I have said it many times before, but I can never say it enough, thank you to everyone who has played any part in any or all of those 53 trucks. We have taken beds, medical supplies, food, knitted blankets (keep reading), water containers, generators, hygiene items, clothes, toys and bedding along with many other items.
A lot of this aid has been donated by individuals and corporates and all of the funding has come from you. Thank you. We cant do this without you, and although the pictures have gone from the news on many days, the war continues and the aid and funding remain as important now as ever it was. | | | | | Whilst there is often a mention of the big projects that happen, each of which is clearly hugely important, we could not do what we do without the army of people that help us in the background, a collection point here and a knitter there, all playing their part to provide the much needed aid that we take out on each of these trips.
Warmth is key, especially this time of year and we have an army of people (over 300 as you will read below) knitting blankets, headed up by one of our volunteers Sue Hoskinson. This is her story:
I first heard about Hope and Aid Direct some 15 years ago when my sister-in-law volunteered to drive out to Kosovo with one of the convoys. The charity used to have a temporary warehouse in Slough, and I helped sort out the clothing donations. On one such day Chas had received a pile of crocheted shawls and what they really needed for Kosovo were family -sized blankets. He asked if I could do anything with the shawls, four crocheted together made the ideal blanket, that’s how it started . I started to knit squares and join them into blankets, then I recruited friends and acquaintances, one being Jean Salter who has been with me since the beginning. Jean organises a huge group of knitters who meet regularly in Cholsley Oxfordshire. I now have a database of around 300 but the number of knitters is much bigger than this as most names head a group. The convoys, due to lack of space, always need to prioritise and we were asked to produce adult sized single blankets which is what we continue to do. Having received lots of varying shaped ‘squares’ I soon realised that they needed to be standardised hence the pattern by Barbara Robinson. Barbara was one of the first knitters to send me squares and they were wonderful. I then developed a quick method of crocheting the squares together which tidied up all the loose ends. Originally my wonderful neighbour Linda Driscoll & I made up all the blankets but now have another neighbour Valerie Miller who very kindly sews squares together too. I have also ’tapped’ the crochet world and recruited some more ‘joiners’ plus we now have a crochet 'granny square' pattern very kindly devised by Elaine Jones formerly of Knit for Life. To increase production and speed up delivery I soon realised there is a limit to how many blankets Linda and I could produce and deliver. We needed to expand, and I now regularly email my list with updates and convoy deadlines. I suggested that if possible, groups could get together and join their own blankets. I forward the HaAD DOP list and suggest they contact them to find a mutually convenient time to deliver directly. Barbara Bacon in Gravesend is happy to join squares and delivers to Bev’s sister who lives near her. Barbara also put me in touch with Jo Andrews’ a former ITN reporter and journalist now a weaver in Dorset of Haptic and Hue a wonderful website about 'all things textile'. She very kindly wrote an article about our blankets production on Series 4 Threads of Survival. This reached thousands of like-minded textile / handcrafters worldwide and we now receive squares from USA, Australia & Continental Europe. Production also increased following the ‘BIG KNIT’ day held in my village hall, a month before the first COVID lockdown. This raised awareness for HaAD, raised funds by sponsorship and brought in acrylic yarn and squares.
| | | | I now take the completed blankets packed in banana boxes (thanks to Tesco) to my nearest drop off point, Janet Page in Cheddington for pick up by the convoy. After this I am usually ‘squareless” so I send out a request for squares and can guarantee hundreds will be delivered by my cheerful village post lady Inny within days. I thank you all most sincerely, alas too many to mention individually. Over the years I have been amazed at the diversity of knitters' circumstances. It has brought together folk from all walks of life some very elderly & housebound, others ailing, bereaved or lonely particularly during lockdown. I have met many of them for ‘handovers’ in various lay-bys, service stations & coffee bars. Whether it be knitting or any other form of volunteering, this shows how you can be part of a larger whole. If you only have a few minutes here and there or many hours a day you would be welcome to assist in some shape or form, please do get in touch, and of course if you want to join my band of knitters just reply to this email and ask for Sue, I will contact you.
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