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Support for Ukraine goes on by Simon Hart

The fourth aid consignment for Ukraine was delivered from the Archdiocese of Liverpool in October – and the message came back to remember Ukraine’s people in our prayers.

Anybody wondering about the impact and significance of the ongoing ‘#Liverpool4Ukraine’ appeal should seek out a video of Bishop Hryhoriy Komar on YouTube.

Bishop Gregory, as his name is pronounced in English, was among the party that gathered at a border crossing with neighbouring Poland in mid-October to receive the latest consignment of aid from the Archdiocese of Liverpool. In an interview recorded by Andrew Davis, one of the volunteer drivers from this diocese he thanked them for the six-day mission they had undertaken and underlined just what it meant to receive such aid.

‘It is very important for us that you come,’ he said in the interview, which can be seen on the Archdiocese of Liverpool’s Facebook page. ‘We are very, very grateful that you could come. Your presence means a great deal to us. It’s the material needs that we have and, at the same time, it’s the goodness that you bring with you, it’s the love and the charity that you bring from your Church to us along with the things that we need materially. It is just good to know that we have friends who stand by us, even in the most difficult times.’

Bishop Gregory, who is auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Sambir-Drohobych in the Lviv region of western Ukraine, recorded his message on Monday 17 October. That was the morning on which he and a band of seminarians met the small group of six volunteers who had driven the 1,400 miles from Liverpool. The consignment, carried in a convoy of three trucks, contained dried food, building tools – to help repair damaged buildings – as well as thermal clothing and generators. The purchase of these items was made possible thanks to generous donations to the #Liverpool4Ukraine appeal which has so far raised over £145,000. As Bishop Gregory explained, they will help people both in his diocese and in the east of Ukraine. ‘We have a number of centres where there are refugees that the Church looks after and we will use this aid for those people,’ he said. ‘We will also send what is necessary to the east of the country through our parish system.’

Jill Boggan, finance director of the Archdiocese, was one of the volunteers involved in this latest journey across Europe and she recalls the significance of the moment the three trucks crossed the border into Ukraine for the handover. ‘Seeing them and handing over the aid, helping unload the vans on to theirs, was the highlight of the whole trip,’ she said.

The drivers with Father Taras Khomych and Canon Aidan Prescott at the blessing of the vans

‘We can be sitting behind spreadsheets in the office and all of that is necessary to support the mission but this was an opportunity to be able to do something very tangible,’ added Jill. ‘It was a great honour to be able to take all those very generous donations from people right across the Archdiocese and deliver them personally into the hands of the Bishop and the people that were helping him.’

Aside from Jill, who was making the journey for the second time, there were two other Archdiocesan employees on the trip – Andrew Davis and Nicky Hegarty – along with Jill’s husband, Phil, and Molly Durkin and Megan McWhire from Greenmount Projects.

Greenmount Projects has played a significant part since the start of the diocesan appeal, and not just for the fact its employees have participated in each journey. The building tools and thermal clothing were bought accessing the supply chains of the construction company, which is based in Ashton-in-Makerfield. Similarly the food supplies were accessed with the help of the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust which allowed the diocese to place an order with its suppliers. ‘Using their procurement arrangements meant we were able to get items for a really good deal,’ explained Jill.

In total this was fourth convoy to have left Liverpool since March and it departed the diocese on Friday 14 October and returned home on the afternoon of Wednesday 19 October. The day before the departure, a service for peace and for the blessing of the drivers and trucks was held at the St Margaret Clitherow Centre, Croxteth Drive. This was led by Canon Aidan Prescott, the chancellor of the archdiocese. Meanwhile, the drivers received good-luck cards from children connected with the Ukrainian Family Hub in Warrington – a volunteer-led support network which is helping over 280 families who have come to the northwest from Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion.

A total of 12 truckloads of aid have now been delivered to Ukraine from the diocese and the significance of this ongoing support, more than eight months since the conflict’s escalation, cannot be overstated. October brought Russian missile and drone attacks against civilians and infrastructure, including in the capital Kyiv.

Jill Boggan underlined the message she had heard in person from Bishop Gregory when she said: ‘You could see it was a much more tense situation there. They are concerned about how they are going to be affected in the winter. There is uncertainty over the availability of fuel so the generators we took over will be able to help people certainly.’

‘It is just good to know that we have friends who stand by us, even in the most difficult times.’

The handover at the Polish/Ukrainian border

Bishop Gregory himself highlighted these concerns when, speaking in the video, he touched on the difficulties that the Ukrainian people are facing – difficulties which will grow as autumn turns to winter. ‘The situation in Ukraine is getting worse,’ he said. ‘In the last weeks [Russian president Vladimir] Putin has been bombing Ukraine and trying to destroy our infrastructure. We have to fight in order to have enough electricity.

‘There is a big problem because there are so many people now who because of the war don’t have work and they don’t have any income. We are very concerned that winter will be very bad for our people – there will be no warmth and no heating and no water. That will be a problem, especially for the big cities.’

Bishop Gregory has a close association with the Archdiocese of Liverpool through his longstanding friendship with Father Francis Marsden, parish priest at St Mary’s, Chorley, whom he met while studying for the priesthood. ‘We hope there will be the opportunity to come to Liverpool and to personally thank those people that are helping us,’ he noted. In the meantime, he reiterated his gratitude for another form of aid – namely prayer. It is his belief that prayer and moral support are also playing their part in sustaining the Ukrainian people.

‘We’re very, very grateful to all those people who work together to help us and to be with us during this time of war,’ he said. ‘We’d like to thank you for your prayers because they work miracles. The fact our army is making progress is miraculous.’ And his simple parting message was that we continue to keep the people of Ukraine in our prayers. ‘Please keep praying for us.’

Donations for #Liverpool4Ukraine are still welcome. For details of how to donate, please visit: www.liverpoolcatholic.org.uk/ ukraine-support