Minibuses donated to help a Humanitarian Center and Disabled Kids Institute

This week, thanks to generous fundraisers of Alex Davern and Friends, we were able to deliver two minibuses to help local organizations in Ukraine.

This is not simply a journey of 900+ km. It’s a 2.5 years worth of listening, learning, responding. Since the war started in our neighborhood.The pictures below follows yesterday’s journey with Attila Hunyadi, a Hungarian volunteer like myself. He agreed to be the driver for this 900 km one day incredible journey. The route plan was Budapest - Zahony- Csongor - Uzsghorod- Vynohradive- then back yo Bp.

First stop: The upgraded Kindergarten of Chomony with Andras Baksa

Once we crossed the border, the first person to see was Andras. He was the first person I got to speak to 2.5 years ago, when with Zsohár Zsuzsa we ventured across with the first aid package she collected in Austria. He is a true community leader.

The plan was just to spend 20 min visiting the nursery since it got a major makeover, but as usual we stayed a bit more. The place looks amazing, it’s miles away from the old and dark rooms we saw here a year ago . Coming here, is like coming home. It’s colorful, it’s happy, and it has little ones running around. (Although quite a few of them were away for summer when we visited ). I had to come back here to remind myself, magic happens, it feels good, and it is a lot more than just colored walls . It’s new life .

Lunch was on the table, and got shown around beside the village hall. With help from Hungarian partner towns, he is building an outdoor get together place for the village. He is thinking peace time, bringing people together, not war. He is thinking weddings, even if this time there are not many young boys left .

He is family man, with Erzso beside his side. She works incredibly hard growing cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes under long tents. This is the main source of income for most families in the village. She and their little granddaughter took us to our next stop: Uzsghorod, to complete the purchase of the first minibus and visit the hospital, to see how the renovation progressed since our Match visit.

Neither of these are his (Andras ) projects, he just comes. This 1 hour trip was intense and nice, we got to talk about what’s happening in the area. He tells me he was so proud, that his village had no fallen solders. That’s no more. The man died was only 36, a father of a sweet little girl we met at the nursery . She doesn’t know yet where her father is . So now the village has a flying flag in the cemetery. You can see these flags as you pass the villages and towns. Worryingly growing numbers.

Once we got to Uzsghorod , András comes and talks to the car dealer, he checks the documents before signing . It looks ok. I’m grateful to have one more watchful eye on this project.

I remember we hardly know each other when asked him to buy a pallet of potato from his villagers on my behalf, and take it to the nearest humanitarian centers kitchen in Munkschevo city. What would you say, if a stranger would ask you to do such a thing? Would you do it? I guess most people would be suspicious, maybe even thinking what is she wanting? Especially when those days it was not safe to leave the village . But he did it. Because he always does.

Unfortunately we didn’t have time for a sit down lunch. But he insisted not to leave hungry, and ordered pizzas for take away in a local grocery store. So we eat it in the bus, driving back to Csongor to pick up our own car, and continued our journey to Vynohradive.

And of course we got a package for the road , home grown grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbages. I am grateful for this, because when I get home, I will remember my time with them through food. (Feeding people is very much my thing too). I still have this feeling of how generosity wraps around people living here , and that is inspiring.

Second stop: Donation to the Vynohradiv Special needs Children's Institute with Erika Gacs

Financial Director of Vynohradiv Special Needs Boys Institute

Erika is a key person in this story. She is a very positive person, just look at her smile. We first met more than a year ago, when I’ve heard young boys are replaced from the east part of Ukraine, Odessa to here, Vynohradive. Their home is no longer. I really wanted to see if that’s true and organized a visit. I almost missed her. It was just a split second, when we have heard someone speaking Hungarian in the back. And there she was. She told me they had so many visitors from all sorts or organizations, but help never followed. Not much was expected from us either.

A few month later we were back, with 40 volunteers, upgrading the new wing for the boys. That was magic.And winter came, with no electricity . Power cuts meant the kids had to sleep with their coats on, and kitchen struggled to cope with the cooking. They badly needed a generator . Erika wasn’t begging at all, we just had friendly conversations. She was glad she can speak , and I was also. And we started looking at solutions. A few weeks later generators arrived. These generators are still back in full power, because of the power shortage in the county . This is how the entire kitchen of the institute gets cooking done, and food stored in fridges and freezers

They had an ambulance car, that you can see on the photos above. I think I wasn’t born yet, when this car was produced. You need to bring your own chair , to have a seat. And it finally broke down. How do boys get to go to the doctors to get their treatments? How will they transport them to anywhere? I was glad Alex and I agreed to include this bus in the next aid package. As you can see, keys are handed over to the children’s home team, Erika was over the moon. The director just couldn’t believe this was happening. Delivery needed a lot of effort on all sides. Alex to raise the funds, me to negotiate the documentation, Erika to get “her boys” to find a good deal. Today was the day when it all came together.

And what’s even better? The below photos show you the very first trip the minibus completed with the first group of little ones. This , in a time of war, would’ve never ever happened , unless kind people like my American friends stepped in. I’m truly happy for these boys. This bus just ended up in the right place. This is what Direct Aid for Ukraine is about.

Third stop: Regional Central Hospital of Uzsghorod with Dr Jury Jacina - Director

It was January this year I got to know the professor. With Alex Davern we were keen to find a place where significant help can make a change. The Military Administration of Uzsghorod, György Guzinec suggested this might be a potentially good place to help.

I have heard about injured soldiers treated in Zakarpatska region , as it’s far away from the zero line, it’s safe for regeneration and medical aid. I really just wanted to include a few boxes of vegetables and other food items before our visit . You just don’t go empty handed when visiting a hospital. Baksa Andras suggested (see previous post ) that he speaks to the director . Day later him and the professor was at a sports equipment place, negotiating a set of gym tools and machines . Even the manager of the place stepped in, reduced the items so more fit into this initial smaller budget we were to spend on vegetables. The hospital team of physicians were delighted. And the equipments were delivered in 24 hours .This is how our Direct Aid help began for this hospital in January 2024.

Then the next step was , Mr Jacinas dream: to convert a derelict hospital wing into a fully equipped rehab center. This dream stated in January, and here we are: walls coming off, plans completed, and scaffolding goes up . It’s a huge project. The state is covering the building work costs, with Alex we are looking at buying the equipments for the hospital staff.

Hundreds of people can be treated here, with a promise of a better future.

The Professor tells us, an American medical aid group has just offered a state of the art 3D printer, so they will be able to print their own prosthetics here, made to measure. You can see on one of the pictures him showing us how it will look initially. This is a test phase . Also CT and MRI scanners arriving to complete the project.

He is determined. He understands it’s so much needed. Currently his team is treating 90+ soldiers , more arriving weekly. He walks us to his office, where one wall is covered with badges from units he treated. Also pulls out a few unarmed killer bombs from a basket collection, brought by the soldiers. See that stone ? That’s part of a bomb. It’s this thick, and this is what they have been removing from soldiers . Nothing brings the reality of war closer than this.

I feel this will be his legacy , not just for the injured soldiers, but for his region and entire community. He is a doctor, he likes to do things in his own way. But that’s all right, he is doing all those things in a very trying times. He speaks good Hungarian. Makes me proud. This hospital has a Hungarian origin, and the person in this area also has Hungarian ties to lift it to an other level .

I’m glad we got to see the progress. Planned to be fully finished by the end of September 2024. I will be coming back for sure with more news on this significant project . Just want to add here, there is more space for any potential sponsors to join.

Fourth stop: Regional Humanitarian Aid Center of Vynohradiv with Lyudmila Svoreny

Lyudmila Svoreny A larger than life personality, a captain of the Vynohradive Humanitarian Center, a founder of a children’s organization helping kids with hearing difficulties.

When I first met her, I thought no way anyone can escape her magic power to get you to start working right away for her volunteering project. She is harsh , she is loud when needed, and she is determined. Everything I felt missing from myself, (I thought ) she had it. For example she is not afraid of swearing. (I do). She looks straight into your eyes, long and deep, as she speaks of the truth. Her truth . Not all people like that, but I do. I feel Ukraine is a man’s world (no offense, but I really didn’t see many woman leaders), and she stands the storm .

At start she lead a humanitarian center that aided people escaping from the horror of the war . From the very first day, she is literally holding the flag and working long hours. From the initial aid to inner refugees, the focus shifted . More and more local boys were called in for military service from her town, and she kept in touch with them . Whatever they needed to stay alive. She moved the earth to find it. Food, blankets, warm clothes, drones , this list can go on very long. And her husband is very much on her side, he is the one that heads the missions to very close to the zero line. Every single month , they travel up with aid.

With Marci Elődi and Haho volunteers we helped her to have a better storage system so they can help more. Soon after she became an official distributor for UNICEF aid .

In March this year , Alex Davern and I agreed to help “her boys” with drones and pickup trucks . These soldiers are fighters, in the famous 128 brigade, and 33, but she is in touch with 12 different missions, helping with food and non military aid to over 1.000 soldiers. It was time to help her mission with a transport solution. This is the direct aid she needed.

This bus means :

the humanitarian center can collect aid not just locally, but from further afield. Even from Kiev .
Her list of partners can significantly grow..
She can work with her Polish partners from the city of Krakow council to help the soldiers to survive .
The dancing group of little girls she is leading can get to local competitions.
The boxing club they run for young boys can travel to competitions .

This is just what I know of. I’m sure Lyudmila will update me how this aid was changing their life.

A minibus is not a small gift. It’s significant. But I would say she earned the trust of the Direct Aid funderd with the extraordinary work she does. She is very much approachable , if you want to know more of her work. I linked her in, so get in touch if you can offer any help .

We arrived really late from Usghorod to Vynohradive. The owner of the minibus waited 3 hours for us to arrive so we can sign the papers and hand over the keys. A long day of travel …

Lyudmila’s young son was also waiting. He innocently asked her mum, why someone would give away a perfectly good bus ? Should they give it back, so it’s here only for a project? Should it be returned?

While we had a conversation inside the center , he stood outside, despite the rain he just watched the bus. I started to think he is going to sleep in it. (Will ask Lyudmila if he did :))

There was a very vibrant vase looking object on display. I looked at it, and I was told I should take it home as a token of thank you . It turned out to be a repurposed bomb, with a message to the Russian leader . (Told you, I can’t say bad words ). It’s decorated with flowers . Still, holding it felt so heavy , mentally heavy . I was told this bomb made a town house collapse in Bagmut. Lyudmila says she is not going to lie, yes , it killed many…. I was speechless. Holding death in your hand is not a pleasant feeling. Very much the same sickening dizzy feeling I had when visiting Hiroshima memorial museum. No, I couldn’t take it. This has to be behind walls, maybe in a museum, telling its sad story …

As you can see, the keys are handed over, and I can’t wait to see where the bus first few trips will lead to.Attila Hunyadi and I headed back to Budapest , after a very long day of meetings.

I really wish safe trips to you Lyudmila . Bring the boys home, hopefully soon, when peace arrives. And wish the bus is to be used only for the children’s projects . But I know, the reality is just not peace yet. It has already a high price you all paid, and the bill is still not settled.

Today I got a thank you message from the 0 line from one of Lyudmilla’s boys. A very young drone captain , Szasha .

We got talking about the wedding part he never had. Once he is back, we should organize a big one. But his reply was : “I don’t want a big wedding. A just want to honor the people I fought with. I want to sit beside them, and tell them how we won “. Those are the words of a 24 years old, who should be just living the best time of his life. Instead, he has no time to live. He needs to beat death. And he is one of those boys Lyudmila talks to , to keep their spirits high.

Respect !

What's next?

We as Direct Aid for Ukraine have an ambitious aid package happening in the next 4 month. It includes :

upgrading a rehabilitation center for injured soldiers in Uzsghorod county hospital,
helping the Ukrainian Armed Forces with vehicles, drones
aiding a children’s home and humanitarian center with much needed minibuses to transport kids / aid packages and
help a local community with a magic makeover for their community hall. If you CAN help us to do more, please get in touch. Read our blogpost hereunder on funding options.