Duo to join convoy of aid to Ukraine setting off from Oxford
The 4x4-type vehicle they'll be driving will eventually be used on the front line
A duo from Somerset have signed up to travel by car more than 1300 miles over three days to deliver a vehicle that's destined to work on the Ukrainian front line.
More than £1300 has been raised for Katie and Ed's trip, which'll get desperately needed medical aid to those who need it.
The plans, described by bosses at Hinkley Point B, a nuclear power station, as 'ambitious', will help to make possible something which Cyber Security Specialist Katie Hines has been wanting to do for some time.
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 in April.
The vehicles will then be taken to the front and upgraded to be used as evacuation, response and medical vehicles.
She said: “I’ve never done anything like this before. But when I was talking to people about what’s going on in Ukraine, I realised I needed to do what I could to help and that this was a way I could do my bit. I’m really lucky to be sharing the driving with my partner Ed, but, I just hope I don’t have to map read, my lefts and rights aren’t reliable!'
“Myself and my partner Ed Chalmers will be covering the rest of our costs for the trip, so everything raised will go directly to funding the vehicle and, anything extra, on more aid supplies.
“This kind of trip really matters. People there still need help. They need medical supplies and evacuation vehicles. We have stocks here that can be transported to Ukraine, we just need vehicles and people to get it there.”
The aid the convoy will transport to Ukraine has already been donated by hospitals, charity groups and other donors, but getting it to where it is most needed has been a challenge for many months.
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.”
You can find out more about their trip - and their £2000 fundraising target to pay for the 4x4 type vehicle - here.
You can also find out more about Driving Ukraine on their website - this group has transported 70+ vehicles to Ukraine since the start of the war and Katie and Ed have put their hands up to make the journey.