Rye News reported the return of the courageous drivers, who took important items like warm clothes, generators and food to Ukraine. Following up the story, talking to Malcolm Maynard, shows it was quite a heroic feat. He said the last trip took 32 hours with only two stops for a couple of hours rest. He thought this time they might take a longer time to rest as all three were very tired in the end after a 1,692 mile trip there and the same miles back. But as Kt Bruce reported, Malcolm also said that it was well worth while, considering how thankful the Ukrainians were across the villages and he could see what can be achieved with a van load of necessary items.
Malcolm explained that the journey took them to Romania and across the border near Suceava (where I visited a few years ago as my father was actually born there). Asked what the most useful item to take was, Malcolm said that definitely more generators were needed to help the food stations to cook meals that anyone can access. He also says that the generators don’t need to be new or can even be broken as he is excellent at mending most of them. They hope to go more inland on this trip but care is needed as even in the villages near the border the noise of bombs can be heard.
Malcolm and Bob hope they will make the next trip at the end of May and that his van, as on trip two, will be half full with generators, a quarter full with clothes for adults and children and the remaining quarter with food. Apart from these items, money for petrol and insurance is important and they would appreciate any donations. Sometimes they pay from their personal money which they do gladly but in the long run they do need financial support from the community. Please contact Malcolm Maynard in New Romney if you can help in any way: 07746 146782.
Image Credits: Russ Feakins , Malcolm Maynard .