PRESS RELEASE: Despite the summer holidays being in full swing, the collection campaigns for Ukraine are continuing in full swing. For example, in Haren, where the Social Brigade is collecting supplies. “Last Friday, a bus with a trailer left for Ukraine,” says Willemijn Kemp of the Social Brigade. “Because fortunately, a lot is still being collected. In the past week, we have also been active several times to organize and pack relief supplies. The bus left on Friday, but in the meantime we have already started loading another bus.” Organizing According to Kemp, organizing and packing is also important. “If you want to drive into Ukraine, you can’t just cross the border. Ukrainian customs checks are strict. These checks are also thorough. The box must state what is in it. Is it food? Is it medicine? And the order is important. That you can indicate that boxes one to ten are going to Odessa, and ten to twenty to Kharkiv, for example. If you can demonstrate this properly, you will be let through quite quickly. Because people know how important the aid is.” Collection location in Haren Back to Haren. Because how does the collection proceed? “We can always use relief supplies. And then we are talking about dry and wet food, medicine and bandages, for example. But also water filters, for example. These items are still welcome. In Haren, items for Ukraine can be brought to Wiesje’s garage box. This can be found at Hemsterhuislaan 33 in the village. If this location is not easily accessible for someone, they can contact us via our website, then we will come up with a solution.” Attack on Odessa Much has been said and written about Ukraine in the past week. For example, the Ukrainian army is said to have launched a serious offensive. “Several Ukrainians have been staying here in Haren since the beginning of the war. And they follow the news. They hear about this. But this past week, there was not much talk about this attack. Many of the Ukrainians staying here come from Odessa. The city that was heavily attacked last week. Facilities in the port were destroyed, but even worse, the historic and famous Transfiguration Cathedral was badly damaged. That causes a lot of sadness and anger.” “People can’t sleep a wink” According to Kemp, people are worried: “There are friends and family members living there. People are worried about that. Ukrainians are also staying in Onnen. A family staying there was in Odessa last week, and the situation is terrible. The Russians are firing dozens of rockets per hour, and that goes on all night long. The anti-aircraft guns can take out some of them, but because there are so many, that doesn’t work with all the rockets. Houses are shaking all night long, and people can’t sleep a wink.” “Back to Kyiv” Kemp notices that it is having a big impact on the Ukrainians mentally. “The war has been going on for a year and a half now. Some Ukrainians are trying to distract themselves by working. But that is proving difficult. The cultural differences between the Netherlands and Ukraine are huge. And there is also the language barrier. That makes it difficult for several Ukrainians to continue. Some Ukrainians are also returning to their home country. For example, someone recently returned to Kyiv. But that is not an ideal situation either. The air raid sirens and the explosions that sound there make people very restless. The situation is very difficult.”
