Generous donations from Dorchester have been delivered to Ukraine refugee centre
By Lottie Welch 26th Mar 2022
A Dorset delivery of aid for Ukraine has been successfully delivered to a centre close to the Polish border.
Paul Wallis, from Dorchester, and his brother in law, Jorj Kowszun from Eastbourne, arrived at the centre, run by the fire service, on Thursday morning and are now driving back to the UK, a journey which will take two days.
Their load, picked up at Hurn airport, and including items from Dorchester, is now being distributed where it is most needed within Ukraine.
Paul and Jorj spoke about the generosity of the Polish people who are working at the centre – who not only welcomed them and fed them breakfast, but insisted on giving bags of food for their journey back to the UK.
Mr Wallis said he could not bring himself to take pictures of the refugees at the centre, mostly women and children, although did take a few pictures of the lorry being unloaded by a volunteer firemen and of staff working at the centre.
The Dorset load included a medical microscope and children's hospital mattresses as well as sleeping bags, warm clothes and a range of other items.
He said that the one thing they wished they had been able to bring were children's push chairs because without them the refugee children were often having to walk long distances.
He said he was also grateful for his brother in law's Polish language skills. Jorj's parents had fled to England in the war years. "Without him I would have been lost for hours," said Mr Wallis. Said Jorj: "The centre now only has a small number of refugees but at one point they had 18,000 come through here, but now it's down to a few hundred a day, it's so very, very sad." The pair are planning to return home via the scenic route, taking in Krakow, on the advise of volunteers at the centre who assured them it was no longer, but prettier. The hire of the 7.5 tonne lorry and its travel costs had been financed from donations, with Stenaline offering the ferry trip without charge. In Dorchester collections continue every Tuesday from 4pm to 5pm at the Prince of Wales School with items needed including medicines such as paracetamol and anti-inflammatory drugs, calpol for children, warm clothing for adults and children, sleeping bags, nappies, baby bottles and milk formula, batteries and torches, children's sweets and items such as colouring books, crayons, pencils and small toys. Both men said they were struck by just how cold it is in the area – conditions which are likely to continue for several weeks yet.
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