The first batch of generators for Ukraine starts its journey to Kyiv at Stephill’s factory in Wellingborough.
Production manager Lee Pears is overseeing the assembly of our first order of 12 2.7kw Honda-powered units.
They’re robust, reliable generators made to order and will do the job that’s required of them in sometimes harsh environments.
From Stephill’s factory the generators are delivered to the Hope & Aid Direct warehouse in Essex to be loaded onto one of their trucks: destination Kyiv.
Hope & Aid Direct is a 100 per cent volunteer-led, UK-based humanitarian aid charity with its current focus on the situation in Ukraine.
They are a non-political, non-affiliated charity whose motto is We take aid, not sides.
They take humanitarian aid like our generators to where it’s needed; they’ve been doing this for nearly 25 years.
What they also have is a wonderful group of volunteers who help at the warehouse plus HGV and drivers of the 7.5-tonne lorries that deliver the aid to partner non-government organisations (NGOs), who assist in the onward delivery of aid directly into the hands of those most in need.
The journey by truck to Kyiv takes anything from 24 hours to six to seven days, depending on road conditions, snow, border delays or accidents.
On arrival in Kyiv, our generators are handed over to a local charitable foundation, Ukraine on Palms, for onward distribution.
This NGO was founded in 2015 to implement national, regional, local and international programmes aimed at helping orphans, and vulnerable groups.
Alla Nalyvaiko, who heads up the NGO, is a magician of humanitarian aid.
As well as supplementing medical aid to hospitals and clinics, her focus is on vulnerable and disadvantaged groups that have been particularly impacted by the Russian invasion: many families have been made homeless as the result of deliberate artillery, missiles and drones action obliterating their houses and apartments.
They travel widely within Ukraine including to areas that are at risk of military action by Russia.
The final destination of our generators is decided locally by Alla’s staff. They are on the ground and know best where the greatest need is.
She said: “We are planning to set up some generators at ‘Points of Invincibility’ in Boyarka city, Kyiv region, where we have 14,000 internally displaced people from Mariupol and Eastern Ukraine where there has been intense and brutal fighting.”
The main purpose of Points of Invincibility is to become an island of safety, stability, warmth and unity in the event of an emergency power outage for more than 24 hours.
These locations of safety and humanitarian shelter will operate around the clock, free of charge and provide somewhere temporary to stay.
Points of Invincibility provide heat, water, lighting, mobile communication, internet, power for mobile devices, places for rest, first-aid kits and basic supplies for mothers and children.
Some generators will also be located in modular housing units which have been erected to house families who have lost their homes.
The Ukraine in Palms’ logo is an outline of the territory of Ukraine – including all the areas currently occupied by Russia – cradled within the palms of both hands. Their motto is prescient: The fate of Ukraine is in the hands of every family.
Donate to the JustGiving webpage at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/energiseukraine