Brothers take long road with vital supplies
TWO brothers have spoken of the long journey to the Polish-Ukrainian border to take over supplies and equipment for people in need, amid Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia.
Rossendale’s Lee Withey and brother Robert Mackey are taking a truck-load of supplies to the Polish town of Przemysl, a round trip of 1,400 miles, taking a total of six days to complete.
Robert initially came up with the idea for the brothers to travel to Ukraine, enlisting Lee’s construction company’s truck as a way of getting the donations to the conflict stricken country.
The truck is filled with donations for the Ukrainian people, including food, clothing, first aid supplies,
medications and electronic items. Last week we reported on how donations of more than £2,300 had covered expenses including fuel, and trailer hire.
Lee said: “I’ve never done anything like this before but we are in a position where we can do something and play our part so we think it’s a good idea. It was actually easier than I thought to sort this out as the government have made it easy in regards to paperwork when you’re providing aid.
“We will be heading to Przemysl in Poland which is about ten miles from the Ukrainian border. We’ll be unloading our truck and then some of the locals will be coming in their vans to pick it up and take it to Ukraine.
“We are bringing the big truck that we’ve got because it’s a lot more suitable than our other ones. It’s got a big trailer and more importantly two beds because we’ll obviously need somewhere to sleep. I will continue to do things like this for as long as I can and I will definitely do more stuff like this in the future.”
The brothers will be heading to Poland using the assistance of the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Manchester, who will then be responsible for distributing the supplies to refugees in Ukraine. The Cultural Centre has been the “nucleus of the
Ukrainian community in Manchester and the surrounding areas for over 60 years.”
Lee added: “The centre have been great and have taken the stress out of it all by planning the route for us and sorting out the donations. They’ve also sorted it all out on the other end as well so all we have to do is help unload the truck.
Lee is the managing director of Speakmans Construction, a company based in Bury that specialises in fast-track refurbishments in the leisure and private sectors.
They specialise in the creation and refurbishment of new dental practices.