Towcester church volunteers send sixth ambulance to Ukraine
St Lawrence Church in Towcester started sending aid to Ukraine in March 2022, soon after the Russian invasion.With the help of the local community, they have distributed an estimated 30 tonnes of humanitarian and medical supplies.Fundraising efforts for the latest trip began with a concert featuring Towcester Studio Band and a local singing group, The Songbirds.
On Sunday, the marathon journey to the beleaguered country began.The ambulance was driven 1,350 miles (2,173km) to Lviv by Alex Donaldson, who was making his sixth journey to the city, with Steve Challen.From there, they travelled another 40 miles (64km) to the city of Zhydachiv, a place that is keen to develop its twinning relationship with the similarly-sized town of Towcester.They collected formal twinning documents to take back home and presented the mayor with a gift on behalf of his opposite number in Towcester.
Returning to Lviv, the two men met Rotary members and handed over the ambulance and its contents to Tetiana Rudnik, who founded the Ukraine aid organisation, Ukraine-Mother.She drove 335 miles (539km) to the capital, Kyiv, where she planned to deliver the supplies to various hospitals, paramedics and individuals.The medical equipment included life-saving bleed control packs, purchased through fundraising, and 14 children's portable ventilators.The ambulance was then due to be handed over to military paramedics in the far east of Ukraine.
Mr Challen said: "Thanks to the goodwill of Towcester Studio Band, the Songbirds and Towcester Rotary, we have been able to deliver an ambulance full of medical items which will help save countless lives."We came to deliver a lifesaving ambulance today, but have been overwhelmed by the gratitude and hospitality we have been shown during our stay in Zhydachiv and Lviv."
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