Llanfairfechan charity sends van full of medical supplies to Ukraine

A trio of representatives from British International Rescue and Search Dogs (“B.I.R.D.”), which has helped locate missing people and help those in critical need around the world for more than 30 years, drove to Warsaw and back in less than three days, taking 38 boxes full of supplies with them.

This follows the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24 and has since left a trail of devastation across the country.

All sorts of medical supplies, including bandages, field dressings, masks, plasters and personal protective equipment, were left at its Llanfairfechan hub, the Church Institute on Park Road, prior to the trip.

READ MORE:

Llanfairfechan charity asks for medical supply donations for Ukraine

Anglesey silver spoon ring-makers aim to raise £1,000 for Ukraine

Mochdre gym to host 24-hour ‘spinning’ fundraiser in aid of Ukraine

Setting off at 3pm on Thursday (March 10), the van arrived at the Warsaw collection point at 5.30pm the following day, before returning home at about 7.30pm on Saturday.

The donations were passed on to the Polish Red Cross, who will then oversee its delivery to Ukraine.

An online fundraiser page set up (donate.giveasyoulive.com/campaign/medical-supplies-for-ukraine) also raised £650 to help with costs for the trip, while fuel donations were also provided by Owens Group and Breedon Group.

Polish Red Cross helping to unpack the van at one of their centres in Warsaw. Photo: Matt Baker

Matt Ryan, whose roles in the charity include trainee dog handler, drone operator, and digital support provider, said that despite roughly 55 hours of driving, which covered 3,500 miles and seven countries, it was a thoroughly worthwhile trip.

Matt, who made the journey with fellow team members Bob James and Brian Jones, said: “We carried 38 boxes with us, and we filled our Ford Transit Custom van to the top.

“We got in contact with the Polish Red Cross; they’ve got a few distribution centres, but they’d only just opened this place (in Warsaw) the day before.

“It was quite a big building with lots of rooms, and it was packed to the rafters. The show of support there has been amazing, but they didn’t have any medical supplies at all.

“Their faces when we turned up with a van full of medical supplies was priceless; it made it all worth it in that one go.

“Our favourite moment was when the depot leader picked up one of the smallest boxes, saw that it said ‘medical supplies’ on it, and said: ‘We haven’t got any medical supplies; that’s amazing’. And we said: ‘No, this (van) is all medical supplies, all for you!’

“Her jaw nearly hit the floor; that moment made the whole thing worth it.”

Matt said he and the team “learn a lot” from the trip, including ways to make it easier on themselves should they repeat the journey.

He added that they might also begin asking for donations other than medical supplies, having seen refugees arrive at the depot desperate for food while they were there.

Matt added: “We learnt a lot from this trip, so there are ways that we could make it a bit easier on ourselves.

“We might have to spread the journey out just a little bit more, because it was really hard work, but I feel guilty saying that, because the people there are working 18-19-hour shifts a day in desperate situations, and we took one van-load over.

“We might expand what we take, into things like dried food, which we noticed was needed as well.

“There were refugees walking in while we there and they were making them boxes with food in them, so I think food could run out.

“We’ve now got a contact with the place we went to, so we’ll ask them what we need, and collect that.

“We will be going again, so will start a fresh appeal for donations.

“We are also appealing for a local company to sponsor a van for us to have so we can complete many more missions like this in the future.

“We want to help as many people as we can and we need a larger van to be able to do that.”