AN underground school and a bakery are among the vital projects being supported in Ukraine thanks to Edinburgh donations.
Humanitarian charity Edinburgh Direct Aid International is operating in war-torn Kharkiv, drawing from its experience of crisis response.
Among its volunteers in the area is Maggie Tookey, a retired teacher and volunteer international aid worker.
In a letter from the ground, she recounts the looming threat of Russian troop advances in the east, but maintains a message of hope.
This included a letter of thanks, translated from Ukrainian, from an underground school kept operational in part by donations from Edinburgh locals. A vital bakery has also been kept running as a result of that support.
Maggie Tookey’s letter from Kharkiv, Ukraine (July 30)
MY first night here in Kharkiv was an absolute pounding for around four hours, until 5am. The Russians have escalated all types of firepower but mainly these awful Shaheed drones that buzzed over the city. There were a number of people dead and injured by morning.
Things are not looking too good here but we hope for the best.
I visited Oskil yesterday near Izium in the occupied territories. It was a lovely visit. I’ve attached a letter translated from Ukrainian, from the Oskil school manager and staff - we provided around $7500 for equipment. This letter, translated with the help of Meriam from Volunteersk, gives their reaction to our help. It’s uplifting in difficult times.
Meriam and I then moved on to visit Studenok where we have the underground school we helped to create and equip. We met with the community leaders. The school/community centre has been much in use. The World Food Programme has held agricultural classes for local farmers to help them increase the quantity and quality of their crops. Lots of social and educational activities have been taking place, but of course now it’s the summer break.
Now for the bad news.
The Russians are 6km closer than around seven weeks ago. Some days the front line is 16km away, and some days it’s 20km, depending on the military successes or failures of either side that day. Certainly, the sound of shelling sounded much louder than when I was last there in February this year. They’re creeping forward.
Huge new trenches have been dug close to Studenok and some military are within the community. Oskil is also closer to the front line.
Around 100 people have left the Studenok community in the last few weeks for safer places.
The leaders feel that they must prepare better this time for the possible arrival of Russians if it comes to that. Last time, people died by Russian snipers. There’s only one road out over a wooden bridge, and if that is blown, they only have a rough back road patrolled constantly by these first-person view (FPV) Russian drones. They plan to start moving the elderly and disabled soon if the situation doesn’t stabilise. Maybe it will. Maybe Donald Trump will come up trumps.
Bakery
THE replacement bakery to which EDA has contributed after it was destroyed in Kup’yansk was relocated to settlements further back towards Kharkiv but still within the Kup’yansk District.
Before rebuilding began, it became clear that even these more distant locations were unsafe and vulnerable to drones. It would have been a huge waste to lose yet another bakery and its expensive equipment, let alone the baker and his wife, who were lucky to escape the last bombing with surface injuries.
The Russians are now so close to the town, and small groups enter before being driven back by the Ukrainians. Shelling has escalated greatly and the number of drones makes life almost impossible. Despite this, about 1000 people still require help and medical support, and Ruslan continues to risk his life to deliver vital medicines. Even for him, the stress is mounting.
Now the new bakery is constructed on the edge of Kharkiv. This will be staffed by 16 IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] from Kup’yansk working in two shifts.
They have been trained in bakery skills and bread will still be taken to the edge of Kup’yansk and to settlements to the north and south
of Kharkiv, which are also under threat and where bakeries can no longer function.
It will be completed in around a month. EDA has contributed three major items of expensive equipment:
- A steam convection oven
- An industrial dough mixer
- An industrial flour sifter.
I’ll make another visit to the emerging bakery before I leave.
Edinburgh Direct Aid International
EDAI was formed in 1992.
It is an Edinburgh-based humanitarian charity that delivers direct aid and provides assistance to those suffering as a result of man-made or natural disasters.
EDAI is currently active in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon.
You can find out more about its work online at www.edinburghdirectaid.org
