Mr Nikolay

Mr Nikolay – the name. At the start of the war, I was asked by many people – here in England, in Hungary and in Ukraine – for the name of our ‘Group’; saying it’s Knowle and Dorridge and the broader community in Warwickshire, Worcestershire and The West Midlands didn’t really cut it. In Hungary, they all call me ‘Mr Nikolay’; I thought this gave everything an identity; at the time, I couldn’t think of anything else. I hope it’s a name that we can all stand behind.

Introduction

Here, we look at some projects we have supported and how we can move forward helping some of those whose lives have been shattered by this appalling conflict. As I write this, on 1 October 2023, we have together raised over £60,000; you can read more about this by clicking any of the GoFundMe links on this platform.

Thank you to everyone for your incredible support and generosity. Sadly, this money is already spent or committed; if you can, please continue to support the work we do.

I have now travelled into Ukraine twelve times, seven times to Uzhhorod and five times to Kyiv. In the very early days, we supported vital humanitarian work as refugees arrived in their droves at Budapest Keleti International Railway Station; we also undertook multiple food and essential aid runs to ‘Charitable Foundation Saint George Caritas’ in Uzhhorod supporting some of the tens of thousands of refugees in the city. Our project work has allowed us:

In the early day, to buy train and bus tickets and supporting translators
Provide toilets, hot water and baby changing in a ‘portacabin’ at Keleti
Every day, for three months, to provide sandwiches, food and water at Keleti.
For three months, to pay 250 forints (60p) per refugee to use the toilets at Keleti
To part fund and establish the ‘Baby Mama’ facility in ‘The BOK’ transit centre
Food and essential aid runs to ‘Charitable Foundation Saint George Caritas’ in Uzhhorod
To fund the ‘Learning Without Borders’ school in Budapest between April and June 2022
To source UK Sponsor Hosts and apply for UK visas under the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme
More recently, to assist Ukrainians secure ‘move-on’ accommodation in Solihull

Highlights

As I travel, I try to write notes that capture my mood in the moment; below are some of the sentences I have written:

Tuesday 29 March 2022

On Monday, I arrived in Budapest to see with my own eyes, hoping to help. By 9:30 hrs on Tuesday morning my illusions were shattered. The pictures you see on the TV are shocking enough; when you sit here in Budapest and ask a Ukrainian family to tell their story over a coffee, it completely tears you (and them) apart. Never, could I have properly prepared for what lay ahead.

Monday 4 April 2022

After delivering food and emergency provisions in Uzhhorod in Ukraine, we had dinner in the Priests’ house; the air raid sirens started to scream; the missiles soared overhead. When silence returned, Peter the Priest said, come, I will say English mass in the small chapel. I went with Gyuri, Peter’s twin brother; the small chapel has four seats; Peter began ‘Blessed Brother, Blessed Nick’. As Peter took the wine at the end of mass, the air raid sirens exploded again; ‘Nick, this mass is for you and the people in your community who have given for our community’. Tonight is a night that will remain with me forever.

Wednesday 4 May 2022

I wrote this immediately I returned to the car after visiting some of the sick and some of the soldiers in Uzhhorod Hospital. I thought I’d see it all; until today; it is just beyond words. You talk to the mentally scarred who look at you but don’t see you; you fear walking around the next corner; the first bomb dropped in this region yesterday at Volovets … … …

Sunday 11 September 2022

Monday 10 October 2022

My first visit to Kyiv, arriving at Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi station at 09:46 hrs in the midst of Putin’s barbaric revenge to the Kerch Bridge attack. News, of course, had already spread as the train approached Kyiv. The sense of anger yet undiminished resolve and determination were palpable. I left the train and descended to the subway beneath the platforms. Reality struck; the subway was packed, overflowing with women and children, traumatised and crying. I emerged from the subway into the vast plaza in front of the station building. I was the ONLY person in the plaza apart from Ukrainian police. Despite the mayhem of broken glass everywhere, there was an eerie calmness; the thud and boom of rockets exploding across Kyiv disturbed the silence.

Wednesday 12 October 2022

Oh my, oh my, oh my. Oleg and I have just been touring Kyiv and we stopped at the incredibly beautiful Mikhailovsky Church to view a number of seized, burnt out and destroyed Russian tanks and military paraphernalia in the square outside. There is an exhibition of 32 photographs showing the Bucha / Borodyanka conflict in the very early days of the war. For sure, I’m not going to share the photo but the inscription beneath one of them reads: ‘Charred bodies of civilians killed by the Russian occupiers who tried to burn them down (to) hide the traces of their crimes. Bucha, Kyiv Region, April 5, 2022’. It is indescribable; it got me. Nearby, is The Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine.

Tuesday 29 November 2022

‘We would be delighted to welcome you as a particularly important supporter of us’ … to a small reception at the Learning Without Borders School in the presence of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. I gladly accepted the invitation on behalf of all of us who have been so instrumental in establishing this wonderful facility in Budapest. ‘It is a great honour to be here and to see the Hungarians reaching out to the refugee children. These children need hope. I myself am leaving here with hope, believing that unity is possible. It is wonderful what the helpers and supporters have done here. My message to the Ukrainians here is the following: I know you want to go home and rebuild your country. For my part, I will do everything I can to make this possible,’ said the Duchess.

Wednesday 28 June 2023

Our work continues; the initial flood of refugees seeking safe sanctuary has ceased. I am sourcing projects that are desperately in need of support; financially, with equipment and with aid. One such project is the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Specialised Hospital in Kyiv. Sergiy Klymenko, The Head of the Emergency Department at the hospital wrote to me:

‘Dear Mr Nick !

The need for medical assistance has increased significantly not only among the military, but also among the civilian population, in particular children, due to the constant shelling of our country. In connection with the destruction of many hospitals and maternity homes, the need for providing highly qualified care for children has increased significantly, and our hospital, as the main children’s hospital of the country, is doing everything possible to ensure effective treatment of patients from all over the country.

Sunday 15 October 2023

Today, I met with Christina Katrakis and her husband, Roman Kudlay. Christina is Ambassador for the Foundation for United Nations SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) in charge of the Humanitarian Aid Base FFUNSDG-HELP.UA in Vorokhta, Ukraine; Roman is International Crisis Coordinator for the Foundation. Our goal is to work together, developing projects that directly aid some of those most in need.

I could write forever; as I say, I write notes as I go along, trying to capture, in the moment, what I see, my mood and my emotions; I look back and many of them are upsetting; they try to encapsulate the scenes as seen through my own eyes; many people have kindly said they help to form an understanding. I hope this gives an insight into the work we have done and, more so, as we continue to support those whose lives have been shattered by this appalling conflict.