If it’s possible to have such a thing on a journey such as this … today is the day I had most been looking forward to; not least because I have so been looking forward to meeting Serhiy Hrynenko and to reconnecting with Olena Yuzvak; two quite remarkable individuals.
It was an early start, breakfast with Dmitry and then the short car ride to Slavutych; here, I crossed under the dual carriageway, awaiting on the side of the road to jump into Ihor’s car. Ihor and Inna arrived exactly on time at 08:50 hrs; we headed over the Dnipro via the Pivdennyi Bridge (Southern Bridge) on our journey to Hostomel.
Here we were to meet Olena Yuzvak, Director of Hostomel Primary Healthcare Clinic; I first met Olena on my visit in June; you can read about her story on our Home Page. First, I asked about Dima, her son, missing since the early days; still not a word; how you can live with such pain is beyond me. We briefly talked about the situation in Hostomel before Olena took us to see two health clinics in nearby villages, Horenka and Moschun; both villages had been near obliterated by the invaders at the start of the war; including both health clinics; mindless, needless, thoughtless, savage.
Today’s picture shows the health clinic in Moschun, flattened by the invaders; why? If there was one word to capture the insanity of all this, that word would be, WHY?
Today, both villages lie in near ruin; but, through Olena’s unstinting efforts, new clinics have risen up in each village. For many villagers, this is their only sanctuary; they come here to wash; they come her for warmth. To walk the main street of Moschun is soul destroying; every fence riddled with countless bullet holes, almost every house obliterated.
Olena again explained the need for psychotherapy in the Hostomel area; she currently ‘employs’ two but on a voluntary basis; their names, coincidentally also Oleg and Dmitry; Olena needs £10,000 (in total) to employ these two guys for one year; I said ‘yes’ if only to see Olena smile; she did; she said ‘Nick, if you give me £10,000, I will employ three people’; remarkable woman.
We headed on our way to Ivankiv; Ivankiv lies between Kyiv and Pripyat, some 40 miles south from the Chernobyl power plant, with the entrance to the exclusion zone being located just 20 miles to the north of the town. Ivankiv was not as affected by the Chernobyl disaster compared to other towns.
Our first stop was to meet Lyudmila Shelest, Deputy Director of Ivankiv CSPR (Ivankiv Center of Social and Psychological Rehabilitation). Ivankiv CSPR was created by UNESCO after the Chernobyl disaster. Since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War, CSPR has been within the structure of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, working with veterans, their families, and those who have suffered loss.
Lyudmila had arranged for us to travel to Prybirs’k to meet Serhiy Hrynenko and His Mum, Valentyna. I don’t need to write more here; Serhiy is one of our three ‘Heroes of Ukraine’; you can read his story here.
All I will say is that it was a remarkable afternoon, spent in the home of a quite remarkable and courageous family. I felt an instant and close connection with Serhiy; as if he has been a lifelong yet, hitherto, absent friend. Lyudmila is a trained psychologist; she noticed; she wrote after ‘I too get a kick out of your amazing interaction’. Serhiy’s paintings are extraordinary; together, we agreed a challenge for him to paint a portfolio of winter scenes; these will come to me by courier and I will sell for him. I promised to return to Prybirs’k; I will not fail on my promise.
We returned to Ivankiv CSPR; Lyudmila left the car; she said something to Ihor in Ukrainian; Ihor looked at me; ‘Nick, Lyudmila asks if she can give you a hug’; she did; I thought she was never going to let go. A special day with incredibly special people; a bond brought together by the ravages of war.
Ihor, Inna and I headed back to Kyiv. Dinner together in Miminoshi Georgian restaurant, joined by the family of one of our refugees in Solihull; another WhatsApp video conversation; again, not right; they should be here, I should be there. Nonetheless, a wonderful evening as a special day drew to a close; Ihor and Inna drove me home.
Ihor WhatsApp’d me the next day ‘Good morning, Nick! I absolutely agree with you, it was amazing day and frankly speaking I don’t know how to express my respect, gratitude and joy related to you! Thanks to your help many people will give a chance to live or for better life!’
MAKE A DONATION