Somerset couple set off on drive to get medical aid to Ukraine
Their 4X4 will travel 1300 miles
A couple from Glastonbury will set off to Ukraine this weekend (27th April) with a car full of medical aid.
Katie Hines and Ed Chalmes have signed up to travel more than 1300 miles over three days to deliver a vehicle that's destined to work on the Ukrainian front line.
More than £4,000 has been raised for thes trip, which'll get desperately needed medical aid to those who need it.
Katie, from Glastonbury, works in the Engineering Department at Hinkley B, and intends to load up a 4x4 with as much as they can, as they join a convoy of vehicles taking the 1,300 mile drive to Ukraine.
“My brother came across this charity a couple of years ago at the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict," said Katie.
"He sent it to me and said this sounds like something you might like to do and it stuck.
"I spoke to Ed and said do you want to go on an adventure? Do you want to help some people? The answer was yes."
“I would like to think of myself as an adventurer," said Ed, "so when Katie mentioned this to me in passing I thought this was something we couldn’t really turn down. We have the ability to be able to help out somehow, somewhere.”
The vehicles will be taken to the front and upgraded to be used as evacuation, response and medical vehicles.
The aid the convoy has been donated by hospitals, charity groups and other donors, but getting it to where it is most needed has been a challenge for several months.
“I am excited now," Katie said, "all the hard work is over."
"Now that we are loaded up and seeing what we are able to take over I am just keen to get it over and see it make a difference.
“We don’t have loads of money or excess income and I think that’s the same for so many people.
"But we do have energy and we can give that.”
“It doesn’t matter how small the thing your doing is towards a better cause," said Ed, "it’s the fact your doing something."
Nicola Fauvel, Acting Station Director at Hinkley Point B, said: “This is such an important cause as there are people in Ukraine in desperate need of support and help. I’m so proud that our teams at Hinkley Point B, who have form for digging deep for worthy causes, made such a great donation and hope that together we can help Katie’s mercy mission.”
They expect to reach Ukraine on Monday (29th April).