When Katarzyna Southin from Clophill and Emily Roberts from Barton discovered they were both collecting local donations for Ukraine they joined forces to set up the Central Beds Ukraine Appeal.
In the two weeks since they came together they’ve put together a team of over 50 volunteers and have co-ordinated more than 100 tonnes of food, clothes and medical supplies headed for Poland and Moldova.
“It’s been incredible,” says Katarzyna – known as Kasha – who’s originally from Poland and has friends in Ukraine. “We both desperately wanted to do something to help but we had no idea it would get this big. The generosity of local people has been staggering and more and more people have come forward to join us.”
The team includes volunteers who help to sort, pack and label supplies that are loaded onto vans and lorries bound for a Polish collection centre in London. Supplies include torches, batteries, First Aid kits, toiletries, wheelchairs and sweets for the children. There are also volunteer drivers who are taking donations direct to Poland and Moldova.
“We had to organise ourselves really quickly and figure out all the logistics,” says Emily. “It’s been a steep learning curve but we’re like a well-oiled machine now. So many amazing people in the community have stepped up to help us – too many to mention – we absolutely couldn’t have done this without them.”
Donations big and small have been flooding in – including more than 33,000 oxygen masks and tubes from one local business and a supply of dried food from Barton schoolchildren after they held a ‘Bring a Pot Noodle to School’ day.
Kasha and Emily are now looking at helping refugees when they arrive in Bedfordshire. Their plan is to organise a central hub where refugees can meet up and get access to information. The hub will also serve as a place where host families can go for support and advice.
“We’re absolutely committed to continuing for however long we’re needed,” says Kasha, who has registered to host a family. “Emily and I are so busy we hardly have time to sleep but we won’t stop. We’ll do everything we can to welcome Ukraine people to Bedfordshire and make them feel safe and settled here.”
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