Sometimes, things happen because we want them to happen and then sometimes things happen that you just didn’t see coming. Nick’s Mum Luda happened to mention that she knows some volunteers in a village near Ulaniv and wanted to know if we would like to meet them. Of course the answer was Yes. 
A day later, it was arranged, and we made the 60 minute trip to the next village. Now, one interesting thing about rural Ukraine that perhaps you don’t know is how villages like this are starting to wither and die. It is an unfortunate fact, that the old way of life is perhaps not something the younger people want, and as a result you pass by houses abandoned, for sale or just with one elderly occupant. A side effect of this is that there is absolutely no funding for the roads that link these villages and as a result, a trip of 30KM can take upwards of an hour to make. The nearest Hospital to this particular village would take over 2 hours round trip.
In any case I digress, but these area reminded me so much of travelling through the abandoned villages of the Exclusion zone. 

We arrived outside the volunteers house, to find 3 elderly ladies picking cherries from the trees outside the house. And immediately I could see the hard work and devotion that goes into this side of the war. None of the ladies were under 70 years old, and in temperatures of +30C they were filling bucket after bucket of Cherries, destined to be made into Jam and sent to the guys and girls on the Zero line. 

I met Lesya, who you would call the boss of the group, and her house was used as the HQ for this effort. They partner with a resident of Ulaniv, Roman, who I have met and talked about previously who takes the aid and delivers it directly to the zero line. The logistics of this effort would put to shame large corporations.  The amounts of food, which by the way is pre-frozen to last the days long journey, needs to be matched exactly to the number of drops and people they are delivering to.
We were invited into the house and the first thing that struck me was the one single small room that was empty of boxes of Aid. This is where Lesya lives, The rest of the house is taken over with this gargantuan effort. There are boxes everywhere, clothes, dry showers, medical aid, even FPV drones destined for the front, fundraised by local people who want to help.

Now, often, I see people write about how you wander around larger cities such as Lviv or Kyiv, and all you see are people going about their business, not caring about the war or feeling the need to help. I can’t comment on that, I tend not to spend much time in such places, however I have a great deal of experience with speaking to people, whom I can only describe as poor, who devote all their time and effort to the war effort, filling the massive gaps in supplies that the troops at the front need.
Not only essential supplies, but more importantly from a morale point of view. A taste of a dish from home can remind the guys what they are fighting for. 
This work is absolutely essential, and I can now see how the whole of Ukraine is on a permanent war footing. All effort goes towards supporting the fighting troops, leaving them little time to complete the essential tasks they themselves need to survive. Bear in mind, this is a rural community the likes of which we do not see at home and have not seen for decades. Every home has a large plot of land, where the food they need to survive is grown.

An example is Nicks Granny who I had the privilege to meet on this trip. She has a field of wheat that will produce 3-4 tonnes of grain alone, never mind all the other crops, bees and animals she has to tend to.
This is a hard life in normal times and to then spend many precious hours producing food and raising money for others, many of which they do not know and will probably never meet is absolutely staggering. 

This is Ukraine. A Country, and especially a people who are a constant surprise to me. 
At the end of our meeting, which was a good couple of hours, we explained to Lesya how we help Ukraine, specifically the store and our ability to make money from items. She disappeared into the house and produced a flag, a painted shell case and a Unit Plaque. “These are donated to me, but are of no use, so please take them”, she told me. 
From this small acorn, I hope another tree will grow, as I really want to help her and her amazing team. It remind me so much of our dear friend Olena in Olyzarivka, how a small network can grow into something much larger. All it needs is a willingness to help and friendship.

As I always say, Watch this space, but I am sure we will do something with this amazing team of volunteers in the future.

Myself and Lesya standing outside of her house. In the background, are the evidence of the cherry picking.