Welcome to our Website
UKRAINEFEST is about supporting some of those whose lives have been shattered.
Hello, I am Nick Wormald; I live in Knowle, near Solihull. Pictured left and walking a residential street in Hostomel, Ukraine in October 2022.
At the outset of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Hungarian friends of mine went to Tiszabecs, a crossing on the Hungary-Ukraine border; the scenes were chaotic; tens of thousands of refugees pouring across the border. Many had packed in an hour; their possessions in one suitcase; their life savings in their pockets. They left saying goodbye (yes, it could be goodbye) to their families and their friends.
I asked how I might help; my friends’ response was ‘cash, cash, cash’; there was no organisation save for private volunteer help; no food, no water, no free toilet; no onward transport; nothing. On the morning of Saturday 5 March 2022, my local Prontaprint printed me 150 letters free of charge; I placed them through nearby letterboxes; I was hoping to raise maybe a couple of thousand. I could never have imagined a dawn was breaking …
As at 1 October 2023, this has now raised over £60,000; I have personally been to Ukraine eleven times; I have tried to help where I have found help to be needed; you can read more about the projects supported by clicking any of the GoFundMe links on this website.
Throughout the eighteen months, I have undertaken various challenges; on 17 April 2022, I walked 110 laps of Knowle Park to achieve 100 kms in the day (101.98 kms in 17 hours, 5 minutes, 48 seconds); in October 2022, I set out to walk one million steps in the month (1,034,368 steps). There will be more challenges ahead.
With media fatigue, Ukraine commands less column inches; but the pain and human suffering grows. There are many projects desperately in need of support financially, with equipment and with aid. Over the next few months, I intend to support the work of doctors and surgeons at Okhmatdyt National Children’s Hospital in Kyiv and at Hostomel Primary Healthcare Clinic; and, in addition, The Center for Children and Youth Creativity of Ivankiv.
You can follow the project work both here and on the various social media platforms via the links on this website.
This website brings you news about my journeys in Ukraine and fundraising activities and events in the months ahead. Please share my journey and ‘Ukrainefest’ by following, liking and supporting events; thank you
Our Next Fundraising Project:
Hostomel Primary Healthcare Clinic
Olena Yuzvak, the Primary Healthcare Clinic Director, is a truly remarkable lady; this is a small part of her story. Please help me raise £10,000 to employ two psychologists to help support the children of Hostomel traumatised by the invasion; as Olena said to me ‘Nick; if we don’t treat our children today, Ukraine has no future tomorrow’.
On the first day of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russian forces broke through Ukrainian defences at Ivankiv and advanced on the Kyiv suburb of Hostomel and its airport, bringing unspeakable horror on the town and its residents; intercepted phone conversations between Russian soldiers called this ‘zachistka’ – cleansing. The battle for Hostomel Airport was the first major battle of the war; the town’s mayor Yuriy Prylypko was among those killed; the town was given the title Hero City of Ukraine.
The Healthcare Clinic was stormed; the adjoining laboratory building ransacked and destroyed; it remains derelict today. Olena told me her story when I visited Hostomel in June 2023; I also visited the adjoining towns of Bucha and Irpin; images from these three towns shocked the world at the start of the invasion.
Olena was beaten and taken to her home; there, the Russians shot her husband Oleh through the thigh and knee and locked him in an upright refrigerator. Plastic bags were placed over the heads of Olena, Oleh and Dima (their son, aged 22), taped around their necks; Olena’s medical training told her they had forty seconds to live. A Russian soldier slit the bags with a knife but the beatings and interrogations continued.
Eventually, Olena was released; Oleh and Dima were abducted to Russia; after some weeks, Oleh was returned as part of an early prisoner exchange. To this day, they await news of Dima, his welfare and whereabouts unknown, hoping and praying they will one day be reunited with their son.
Imagine for one moment the turmoil and the torture. Yet, throughout this living nightmare, Olena has gone about her work, selflessly placing the welfare of others way above her own; her dedication, compassion and professionalism are beyond words. She tells me of her five-point vision for the future:
Improved working conditions for her employees
Sufficient medicines and medical services for the community
Providing psychological support to the population
Returning her son from Russian captivity
Improved medical facilities and technical support in outlying villages
Olena described to me that the incidence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder amongst children in Hostomel is amongst the highest of anywhere in Ukraine; hard to prove but equally hard to disprove. Her vision is to employ two psychologists especially to treat the children; but Olena will only do so if she can fund the salaries for an initial twelve-month period. The cost; in total; two salaries; £10,000.
With your generosity, we can achieve this goal; if you are able to, please donate by clicking one of the many GoFundMe links on this website; thank you. Pictured right; Olena, me, Karyna; June 2023.
