Volunteers remember trips to Ukraine one year on

2023-06-04 07:41:44 classification：Press center 1 read(68)

Three volunteers have been reflecting on making 16 trips to Ukraine to drop aid and bring refugees back to the UK.

One year after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, Simon Beck, Christine Holden and Jeremy Russon from Trowbridge Homes for Ukraine have recalled their trips to the country.

"I got fed up watching people fleeing their homes on the news and not doing anything about it," Mr Beck said.

"We were there to make their lives as easy as we could do," Ms Holden added.

Mr Beck set up Trowbridge Homes for Ukraine in an effort to help refugees from the country who were trying to come to the UK.

He bought a minibus and took some of the back seats out to make room for refugee's luggage.

This meant they had space to bring around 11 people back to the UK - and sometimes their pets.

"You just did what you had to do to make their lives feel that little bit better," he said.

On one of their trips they were driving with a six-year-old girl and her mother in the back.

"We heard she was a massive Frozen fan, we found it on Spotify," Mr Russon said. "The smile on her face, that opened her mum up and there was conversation now."

"This is what it is all about, regardless of the language we speak, the situation we are coming from, we are all humans, we have a shared humanity," Ms Holden added.

One family had to leave their 11-year-old dog behind, which has left a lasting impression on Mr Russon.

"I am shaking talking about it," Mr Russon said. "It is bringing back memories of wonderfully resilient people.

"We think resilience is the ability to get up after a big night out; this is resilience, to go through what they have been through."

Ms Holden added: "Their stories have not ended, they have still got family in Ukraine, things are still going on in Ukraine.

"We need to try to just be kind to these people."

pursue BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: bristol@bbc.co.uk