Photo of Trica Cusden

Joan Packard is a member of the film club that I run with Super Troopers every fortnight. I knew her to be an elegant, intelligent and sensitive soul. I also discovered that her kind and generous heart had led her to supporting a children’s charity by offering her home in Cornwall for a month every year to give respite to children suffering from the fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster. 

When Putin illegally invaded Ukraine in 2022, the charity switched its attention to helping those children caught up in the war. So, at our film club meeting in early November I offered Joan the opportunity to raise money for her charity via a Christmas Appeal on this blog and within Super Troopers. 

I am delighted to tell you that today, when the appeal draws to a close, together we have raised nigh on £30,000 (with gift aid) for The Helping Hands for Ukraine.

An absolutely brilliant result in every way, so I have asked Joan to tell us about her recent trip to Poland with fellow Super Trooper Gill Blundell to bring some festive cheer to some Ukrainian children, her impressions of the children she met there and how that money will be used to help those beautiful kids and their families.

My Trip to Poland on December 8th.

“Storm Darragh over Cornwall derailed our travel plans with cancelled trains and buses but, happily, a neighbour showed enormous kindness by driving Gill and I to Heathrow on December 8th ready for our 8.15 a.m. flight to Warsaw on Sunday 9th December. We flew with two of the trustees of our charity and the two amazing ladies who run the charity ‘Woolly Hugs’, for whom volunteers knit and crochet beautiful blankets for children who need them. 

After a smooth flight, easy immigration and the safe arrival of our luggage, Rafael from our partner charity organisation ‘Eleon’ in Ukraine met us with a minibus (donated by our charity) and drove us for approximately three hours to the outskirts of the city of Lublin in Poland, just 37 kms from the Ukrainian border . 

The children were going to be staying in the Hotel Regionalny, a large wedding venue and conference centre set in woodland. We were in the Campanile, a basic, but clean hotel. The children arrived by coach almost at the same time as us, happily having only been delayed for an hour at the border while luggage was searched for illegal weapons. 

Their journey had taken nine hours, so they were tired but excited. After rooms were allocated and the children had unpacked and had a short rest, the fun could begin. Meanwhile, we had set about unpacking our supplies of games and craft materials and set up tables with different stations for entertainment. The children made name badges, enjoyed making scratch art decorations and then we played some team games. We then had a rather odd meal (our first food since a very early breakfast) of noodle soup, followed by plain pancakes and squirty cream. Then it was bed time for the group, and we were taken to our hotel to unpack and reflect on the day . 

My First Impressions of the Children.

My first impressions were of children “caught in the headlights” . All had pale faces with big dark circles under their eyes and a haunted look. Initially language was a problem. Although I speak Russian I was reluctant to use it and checked with the Ukrainian leaders first. I was told that Ukrainians prefer not to hear it, but sometimes it was the only way I could communicate. 

The group had come with four school teachers, a nurse and psychologist all of whom knew the children really well. They came from two towns in the north, Borodyanka, the first town to be occupied by the Russians and Korostan, the regional capital which has suffered large scale bombing. Many of the children had lost their homes and were living with relatives, or in half bombed flats in truly awful conditions.

Gill and I spent some time talking with the psychologist. She expressed her fears for their future wellbeing when the war ends. How will they deal with all the hatred, fear, loss, resentment and how will it manifest itself? Some of the children had lost relatives, had fathers at the front or fathers who had fled the country to escape conscription. They have seen their towns, school, and homes destroyed by people they thought were their “brothers”. 

Two of our leaders have sons aged twenty and twenty two, and they told us with tears in their eyes that they fear the day they will be called up. The USA is pushing for the conscription age to be lowered from twenty five as the country is running out of manpower. 

Day Two

On the second day the children were taken to a trampoline centre followed by lunch at Caritas, where thousands of refugees have been processed. There was an auditorium on site where they had a magician which involved lots of audience participation and a visit from St Nicholas! We were joined by one hundred refugee children living in the town.

Day Three 

The following day we set up the wedding venue for a Christmas party for fifty-six refugee children with additional needs. They ranged from 2 to 12 years of age. These children were amongst the first to be evacuated by train at the start of the war. Many of the mums looked like children themselves. It was the most humbling morning. Everyone who came was so pleased to meet us, to know that we cared and that they had not been forgotten. They also loved that we interacted with all the children. Each child received a beautiful blanket from Woolly Hugs with which they were thrilled. They loved the party, the games and dancing, ate a hearty lunch and left after many tears and hugs with a goody bag and renewed hope. 

Then it was then time for a quick turn around and we replayed the party for our older children who had been in the city for the morning. 

Day Four

We spent a lovely day in Lublin taking the children to a huge craft centre with many different activities, including pizza making and a drumming workshop. From there, as darkness fell, we went to a beautiful light installation in a large park. It was stunning and provided everyone with many photo opportunities. There was, however, a very poignant side to this as some of the girls pointed out to me they live with curfews, which imposes on them many hours of total darkness and cold as they are without power. They could hardly believe their eyes when they saw all the gorgeous lights. 

One of our most successful activities was undoubtedly pom-pom making, which surprisingly the older boys all loved too! In fact, since getting home I have received messages from a boy with photos of ones he has made since his return with the small kit that Woolly Hugs gave to each child to take home. 

The Leaving Party - Never to be Forgotten

The leaving party was lovely with most of the children wearing their beautiful embroidered Ukrainian costumes. They recited poetry, did magic tricks, danced, sang their National Anthem and tugged at our heart strings. Many exchanged social media contacts and begged us to keep in touch. I was presented with the Ukrainian flag signed by everyone to shouts of “next year we will meet in Ukraine!“  As you can imagine many tears were shed as we all said our farewells. 

I can honestly say that the visit seemed to me like a safety valve for the older children. They were able to let their hair down, dance and sing to their hearts’ content without having to listen for an air raid warning or look up to the skies. We made a difference in their difficult lives and they know the world has not forgotten about them. They will certainly live in our hearts forever . 

As to the leaders of the charity in Ukraine - they seem more resigned. They are coping by just living from day to day, not knowing what is around the corner. They are all devoted to their country and cannot imagine relinquishing any of it in a settlement imposed on them from outside.

Our Final Task

The final task was to sort and load the tons of aid we had taken. Much of it was going by coach back across the border with the group to be distributed to schools and social centres. We provided bicycles, generators, chain saws, laptops, mobile phones, torches, chargers etc. Some of the goods we provided will be warehoused by our partners and then allocated as and when needed.

What we’d like to provide in the future.

After talking with our CEO and the psychologist, we would very much like to set up permanent psychotherapy rooms in each of ‘our towns’ for returning soldiers, wives and children.  When fathers return on short leave they find it extremely difficult to adjust to being home again, which is very distressing for their families because they constantly feel as if they are in some sort of no man’s land of limbo .

Bomb shelter schools also need to be upgraded, many are in old potato stores, which are damp and very cold. But, should the conflict end, we will need to help to rebuild the schools that are above ground.

But for now…

But that is for later, so for now, thanks to the incredible generosity of the Super Troopers we will be able to achieve so much by using the money raised to reach so many more deserving children and their families.

Gill and I followed the progress of the Christmas Appeal for our charity every day, and could hardly believe our eyes when we saw the figures. I can’t thank you all enough and please know that every penny will make a difference”.

Thank you for your update, Joan, and I am sure that all of you reading this will join me in thanking you and Gill for your kindness, generosity, and dedication to such an amazing and worthwhile cause. Slava Ukraine!

If you’d still like to contribute, see our Christmas Appeal here. 

The Appeal will close at midnight tonight, December 29th 2024 and I’d like to add my heartfelt thanks for all your incredible generosity - this has surpassed my wildest dreams.

Tricia x


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