Hampshire veterans charity supports those in need in Ukraine
Veterans have been using skills gained in the military to run aid convoys
A Test Valley based charity which supports veterans who have suffered past traumatic stress has delivered around ten tons of aid to help those affected by the war in Ukraine.
Veterans In Action has made several 2000 mile round trips to the Polish border where partner organisations have made the final journey into Ukraine.
Chief operations officer Billy Macleod MBE says:
"We have taken all sorts out there, but the items that are really needed in the cities and where the fighting is is medical aid, so now we're concentrating on buying the specific items because they are bespoke items such as gunshot wound dressings"
The charity's mantra is 'post traumatic growth' and they run projects that offer practical and positive tasks where the veterans skills can be used to help others.
Billy says he took a deliberate decision not to take the aid all the way into Ukraine:
"I have to be very aware of the veterans we take out there, the last thing we want to do is take them into a war zone when they are suffering from PTSD or any other mental health condition so we want them to get a good feeling and a positive feeling by being able to help"
But Billy admits seeing the refugees, many of them elderly, come over the border from Ukraine was deeply moving:
"I always try not to show emotion as I'm a Glaswegian and a soldier, but it did affect me but in a positive way to say 'what can we do to help?' . The ethos behind our charity is helping yourself to help others and there's no better way to move forward than when you are helping someone else and it's the whole ethos of the veterans who are going out there to do this remarkable thing"
Each of the convoys costs around £3,500 with petrol being particularly expensive.
The team is now resting after making four trips in the past few weeks, but Billy says they'll be back on the road soon:
"We drive for 20 hours a day for 2 full days with a gap for unloading in-between so we've come back this time and we're pretty shattered if I'm honest so we're having a couple of weeks rest and plan to back out again in 2-3 weeks time but with the right equipment and that's medical aid"
Find out more about the charity here