Starting in the early hours of Sunday October 1st 2023, the journey will take three days, driving in shifts across Europe into Ukraine in a decommissioned UK ambulance to deliver much needed medical and civilian supplies to a hospital in Lviv in Western Ukraine.
Barry commented: “We will be driving alongside three other ambulances, all driven by volunteers, as part of a convoy organised by Medical Life Lines Ukraine (MLLU). Since the invasion, this charity has delivered 33 aid-filled ambulances to war torn areas of Ukraine to meet the demand for humanitarian aid, civil defence support and medical supplies.” More information about the charity and the work they do can be found at: https://www.medicallifelines.org.uk/.
Since March 2022, Charles, with the help of Wimbledon High School, has supported MLLU and contributed to the cost of buying some of the first ambulances and shipping life-saving medication to hospitals identified by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Barry gave further details on their fundraising: “As volunteers to drive an ambulance, we now need to raise £15,000 to fund the cost of purchasing, reconditioning, and delivering the ambulance to Lviv. Any money we raise in excess of this target will be spent on medical supplies, other aid, other useful vehicles, cranes to enable rescuers to reach civilians trapped under the rubble of buildings and even dog food for rescue dogs.”
Barry and Charles are now inviting donations towards their target and would very much appreciate any support. Donations can be made using the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/summer23. This is a general fundraising page for the charity so please make sure that either Barry or Charles are selected in the ‘referred by’ section.
