Ukraine project enters its next phase

Ukraine Sunflower Aid, a group working to help the victims of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has celebrated a number of milestones as it enters the next phase of its humanitarian project.

Founded by owner of The Swan Inn in Midhurst Digby Furneux, the group quickly gained momentum with hundreds of people offering their much-needed support.

Part of this support included a fundraiser which has been running for under two months yet has amassed more than £70,000.

In a statement, Digby said: “It has been less than six weeks since we started this endeavour so I am ultimately incredibly proud of the people I have been working alongside that have managed to pull this off. I think that it is outstanding.”

With the Midhurst and Petworth branches working together, more than 1,000 boxes of aid were delivered to the Poland/Ukraine border in March.

At the time of writing, the second fleet was due to set off at 4am today (Thursday, April 6).

Five van loads of goods were sent out. Most of the cargo was dry foodstuff on this trip but space was made for medical supplies.

Last Tuesday, two HGVs packed with medical aid brought them closer to 100 tonnes of donated aid.

Digby added: “We are following the needs of the people. We are in contact with Poland on a daily basis making sure that the aid that is going out there is the aid that they actually need.”

The group has also made an unlikely stab at fame in South Africa after a charity single made for the group made its way to number eight in the nation’s charts.