From Calderdale with love lorries of vital aid for Ukraine
CALDERDALE VOLUNTEERS are persevering with tremendous efforts to help the people of Ukraine.
As the Russian attempts to invade continue and millions of people flee, tonnes of aid collected from across the borough is arriving in Poland and Ukraine.
Volunteers for Calderdale’s biggest collection, organised by Halifax Ukrainian Club and The Leo Group, have been spending hours sorting and packing up donations, and giving up their time day and night to load up lorries with vital aid.
Their updated list of supplies needed includes medical supplies
“The main message from them is ‘thank you and please keep giving’.”
such as antiseptic cream and wipes, bandages, paracetamol, first aid kits, sterile dressings and wound closure kits.
They are also asking for toiletries, such as nappies, incontinence products, tissues, sanitary products and wet wipes. And they need tools and equipment including torches, sturdy boots, walkie talkies, sleeping bags and ground sheets.
Donations can currently be taken to D Mill at Dean Clough in Halifax on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays, between 9am and 5pm. Volunteers are also needed at these times. For a full list of what is needed and collection updates, visit Halifax
Ukrainian Club’s Facebook page.
Former TV presenter Christa Ackroyd, who lives in Calderdale and has been helping organise the collection, was in Poland and even Ukraine last week as some of the aid arrived.
In a video posted from the hub of Poland’s biggest humanitarian charity, she said: “The
message here is that they don’t need any more clothing. They’re desperate for food, for torches, for medical supplies, sleeping bags, good solid boots that can go into Ukraine - both for civilians and for soldiers.
“But I suppose the main message from them is ‘thank you and please keep giving’. And we promise we’ll make sure they
get here or into Ukraine and they’ll go to the people that need them.”
Christa, a former Halifax Courier journalist, also posted videos showing a lorry that came from Calderdale being unloaded on the outskirts of Lviv, with supplies to be distributed across Ukraine.
Civic and faith leaders in the
district joining a peace vigil for Ukraine at Halifax Minster on Saturday. It takes place from 5.30pm until 6.30pm.