KZN humanitarian braves drone strikes to help war victims in Ukraine
Chris Lomas from Salt Rock on the Dolphin Coast, KZN, risked his life to deliver aid just 400m from Russian forces in war-torn Kherson, Ukraine.
According to The North Coast Courier, the 54-year-old founder of British NGO Hope4 braved drone strikes and frontline shelling to reach devastated communities, determined to remind the world that the war – and its victims – have not disappeared, even if media coverage has.
Hope4 responds to poverty, human trafficking, conflict and natural disasters across Moldova, Ukraine and Turkey.
Despite being a small team of just five, Hope4 has raised nearly £30m (R725m) in aid and more than £750 000 (R18m) in cash donations over the past four years.
In 2021, Lomas and his wife Zoe, a language teacher, moved from England to Moldova with the initial goal of caring for orphans. At the time, Lomas ran a business supplying office equipment, but when Covid-19 struck, demand collapsed – igniting a shared passion to launch Hope4.
In March this year, the couple relocated to Salt Rock, with plans to extend their mission into South Africa and tackle the deeply rooted issues of poverty and human trafficking.
Just days later, Lomas returned to recently liberated Kherson – a journey many described as a 'suicide mission' – navigating missiles and drone strikes to deliver aid to some of the most affected communities.
Soldiers at Kherson's checkpoint warned him and his team that entering the city could cost them their lives, with Russian forces launching up to 2 000 drone attacks a week.
Lomas believes they survived only because of heavy mist that unexpectedly descended over the city, momentarily halting the assault during their visit.
'It was important we reported from the front lines,' said Lomas.
'People think the war is over just because it's no longer on TV. I met families who'd lived through absolute hell. There would be a knock at the door, and people would just disappear. It's scary and surreal.'
The couple are no strangers to danger. From their home in Moldova, they experienced the early days of the war as Russian missiles pounded targets just across the border.
Death threats soon followed, including a chilling warning from someone claiming to be a former Russian scientist, who told them they were on a Russian watchlist and should flee the country.
'When the war began, we started delivering aid to the front line. Our first major stop was President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih. We stayed at the same hotel several times, and I remember lying awake at night listening to air-raid sirens – it became normal.
'Every place we stayed or worked was targeted by missiles or drones. That hotel has since been destroyed, and all the staff we knew were killed. It's sobering.'
For more information visit Hope4 on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube or to donate go to www.hope4.org/donate.
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