Go, Team Ukraine !

I know quite some people in Eastern Europe. Obviously also in Ukraine. While in Luxembourg over the last days, I spent a lot of time on the phone, writing messages, sending letters and chatting to try to find clever ways to help where I can.

If you care about getting involved, donating money is simple to handle, quick and useful but it's not only money Ukrainians need at the moment and I am still baffled about the fact that so many diaspora Ukrainians I know suggest to donate currencies to their army in order to help. I'm more into practical help, for sure not into backing their or an army financially other than with the taxes I pay.

I found Ukrainians who were sending vans and small trucks to the Polish/Ukrainian border. I helped them gather basic stuff like sleeping bags and medicine or water bottles and gas heaters and coordinate the passage of one van in Luxembourg on Monday before it made its way to Rzeszow, Poland, where it arrived yesterday. I edited the van photo this way because I could almost not believe where I was sending it to, a place where I used to play concerts and card games not so long ago.

In the meanwhile, I drove to Slovakia, another neighbouring country of Ukraine.

I am now in Slovakia for the #pbmasters in Bratislava and I am hoping to find other ways to get involved from here since I think Slovakia can be a good ground to continue setting up some solidarity operations for Ukrainian refugees. Before leaving Luxembourg, I came across an organisation setting up Humanitarian Aid Centers there and I got in touch with them. The logistics of moving more than half a million displaced people around together with their basic needs turns out to be quite a challenge. Beside food, gear or medicine, they are now looking for vans and drivers to bring goods to where they are needed and to evacuate refugees from the Ukrainian border regions. Get in touch if you feel like you can help or if you have an idea to share.