'Aid' lorries going to Ukraine...

[Blurp]

My Facebook timeline is suddenly full of requests from people who are filling lorries full of things to take to Ukraine - they're asking for donations of things like clothes, toiletries and food.

None of them seem to mention the name of a charity or any specifics - mostly it comes across as though some random bloke is just going to fill his lorry with stuff and drive it "to Ukraine".

At first I thought it was a great idea, but the more I read the more I'm questioning it. Not that I think the people doing it are dodgy or anything like that, more that I'm not sure how useful it would be.

Like, do they really need lorries turning up all over the place with random stuff inside? I've no doubt that much of the stuff would be useful, but how do they even start to sort through it and match it to people who need it? Where do they even go to drop it off - do they just pick a random road on the border and park there and give it out? I've seen a few people asking questions like this on the posts, but they tend to get ignored or shouted down.

As far as I'm aware, there are no issues with supply of goods to countries bordering Ukraine, so isn't it better to donate money to organisations already on the ground so that they can bulk buy what they need?

Again, I'm not knocking the people who organise these lorries or the people who donate to them; I'm just wondering how useful it really is.

@forinborin I have a loved one trapped there too. In Kyiv. That is why it is so important to be that people understand that well meaning bob and his van of well meaning stuff may clog up routes delivering the military, medical and humanitarian supplied into Ukraine.

Organised local charities, great. But the op is being completely reasonable to flag these concerns and anyone going to those countries should remain very mindful of whether they might be hindering the delivery of vital supplies into Ukraine - which has lost its means to get deliveries by air or sea and only has a few safe land borders

yeah ive seen my local area asking for donations and im too wary to bother, half of me thinks they are just trying to gett free stuff

[quote HWBWithBenefits]@Evenstar sorry, I misquoted you! I had meant to include another post where some guy just packs his van with sleeping bags with no plan heading to Poland.[/quote]
I think you meant my post! I'm keeping an eye on the local news to see if there's an update on him. I bet he's lost in Europe, not knowing where to go with a van full of sleeping bags!

It is roughly 2500km from here in Lublin Poland with 2 sea crossings. Don't know mpg for a transit van but could be well over £600 in transport costs alone

it will be utter chaos if you've got random people going and picking people up from the border and bringing them to random people in our city

Plus huge safeguarding issues, and the risk that vulnerable people will fall into the hands of traffickers, if there's no official record of them or where they are.

@YanTanTetheraPetheraPimp

By sending money you will also be supporting local shops and businesses who could well have been badly affected by the hideous situation in Ukraine. Goods maybe cheaper than here so your donation goes further and is used for what is actually needed, at the right time.

Absolutely this. Currently there's an argument picking up speed on the local FB group with people who insist on collecting random items rather than donating even small sums of money that could be used to make a genuine difference.

I've done some voluntary work in Calais. What people donate (despite clear lists) can be eye-wateringly useless/unsuitable and the job of sorting this mass of stuff takes people away from providing properly useful on the ground help.

[quote forcedfun]@forinborin I have a loved one trapped there too. In Kyiv. That is why it is so important to be that people understand that well meaning bob and his van of well meaning stuff may clog up routes delivering the military, medical and humanitarian supplied into Ukraine.

Organised local charities, great. But the op is being completely reasonable to flag these concerns and anyone going to those countries should remain very mindful of whether they might be hindering the delivery of vital supplies into Ukraine - which has lost its means to get deliveries by air or sea and only has a few safe land borders[/quote]
I absolutely agree. So far there have been no issues with getting things into the country, it is jammed in the opposite direction.

Agree OP and also see lots of people asking for donations to their personal accounts to help them get to Ukraine to 'fight'......That money should be going to Ukraine directly. Not people's pockets

So far there have been no issues with getting things into the country, it is jammed in the opposite direction.

Exactly, so how do these people propose to get out again after having made their mission of mercy?

I also have friend stuck in Kyiv, sheltering in the basement of his apartment block w his wife and baby daughter. I hate that there's nothing I or anyone can do right now to rescue them. But yeah, its not about me and my need to do something, its about helping.

but proper infrastructure can't be created in a few days from scratch.

I think the point is that actually, yes it can. By professionals who do exactly this sort of thing for aid agencies. Random man with van load of 'stuff' cannot. And will divert resource away from those that need it because the professionals on the ground now have random man and van and his stuff to deal with.

The centre I donated yesterday is delivering the donations to Poland. I donated baby milk , nappies, wet wipes, toiletries etc.

Not everyone who wants to donate is comfortable with the biggest named charities and would prefer to send nappies /blankets directly.
By the time my £20 went through the bigger charities administration it wouldn't be worth much.

I've given cash to a couple of relevant charities but I've also got some brand new children's thermals and some other specific items that I'll be donating to a local Polish group. I don't see the issue in doing both if you can. This particular Polish group is sorting everything in the UK so there won't be piles of dirty bedding or used clothes taking up space.

As with other conflict zones, people set themselves up on the ground as a community aid then when people need things they go to them, by the time the lorries turn up they are already the established people distributing to locals in need.

I am more disturbed by people trying to raise money to buy stuff for the army.

@Theanswerisinthequestion

Not everyone who wants to donate is comfortable with the biggest named charities and would prefer to send nappies /blankets directly. By the time my £20 went through the bigger charities administration it wouldn't be worth much.

That's just such a weird way to look at it. As if the act of sending the blanket is worth more than it arriving where it is most needed.

I am originally from Slovakia and will be taking my donation to a local Gp surgery tomorrow who will pass it on to a Polish/Romanian shop. These Eastern Europe shops normally work with a regular transport link who supplies their country goods to them, so they are making these trips anyway, lots of times the van/truck leaves UK empty to come back with the goods on a weekly/regular basis.
They are asking for nappies, sanitary products, calpol style kids medicines, energy bars and toiletries. Most people made a long journeys to get to these countries and are tired and ill.
While donating money to big name charities is great, it often takes time to reach the actual people in need. From my experience I heard from my country the first days is more or less volunteers, people living locally who are there helping, bringing food and stuff these people need before the actual officials put the correct logistic measures in place..
Some people mentioned prices are cheaper there..not always and not everything..there isn't any aldi back in my country to buy nappies for £3 a pack, pack of Tesco's own is something like 12 euros believe it or not..
Let's not forget that it is not just Poland where people are heading, it is also Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, so I am sure that Poland will pass the excess not needed goods to the other countries if needed. Any way you choose to help is great, there is no better or worse way, every little thing counts and will be appreciated.

There are several collection points in my area to drop off items for the Ukraine.I was compiling a list of things I could donate until I read about piles of unwanted clothes etc building up at the borders.
I donated cash to the Red Cross instead.

I am more disturbed by people trying to raise money to buy stuff for the army.

I admit to being a bit stuffed on this one. On the one hand, I don't want to fund arms for obvious reasons. On the other, Ukraine needs to win this and isn't the aggressor.

Very open to what people have to say on this.

Most of the groups I have seen are sending to Poland.

The Polish community in my area are collecting things on behalf of an organisation in Poland. I have lots of warms coats and clothes which I was going to donate. Yesterday DD school put a post out saying they are now one of the drop off point for the collection, which I thought was great as it saved me driving it all in to town. The school stated they wanted children's and woman's clothing, among a list of other things. When I went to drop everything off today, I was turned away and told they wouldn't take clothes anymore and gave me a big list of items I could go and buy. It was really embarrassing and it's put me off donating anything else. It felt very grabby. I've already donated money to various charity's so I'll probably just donate what I have to a homeless shelter or the local charity shop.

Theres some funny ideas people have about donating and helping..

'I would prefer to...' would you now? But who is it helping if you'd prefer to donate goods that no one needs, vs money that everyone can use?

Ultimately, if you'd prefer to donate something that isn't actually wanted, or costs more to process/transport/organise than it will raise/help... then you're not helping anyone, you're just making yourself feel warm and fuzzy aren't you!

If you want to donate stuff, be aware that the items that are needed may change as the situation develops - being offended or embarrassed that you turned up to donate some coats, only to discover they now don't need coats is very silly - donate them somewhere else then, or sell them on ebay and donate the money!

I currently don't have funds to donate, however I did have a few items I needed to buy (digital) and so I looked for sellers from Ukraine to buy them from - as this is a passive income stream that may help those individuals. When I do have spare funds later in the month, I will indeed be donating money to where I think it will do the most good AND the least harm.

@itsnevertolate that does sound a bit badly managed and not ideal if you’d got everything packed up for them, but grabby? Read some of the posts on this thread - sending truckloads of muddled-up second-hand stuff to displaced people just isn’t what is needed. It’s unfortunate that what makes people feel like they’re helping doesn’t match up with what is needed on the ground, but them’s the breaks.

[quote Traumdeuter]@itsnevertolate that does sound a bit badly managed and not ideal if you’d got everything packed up for them, but grabby? Read some of the posts on this thread - sending truckloads of muddled-up second-hand stuff to displaced people just isn’t what is needed. It’s unfortunate that what makes people feel like they’re helping doesn’t match up with what is needed on the ground, but them’s the breaks.[/quote]
Maybe "grabby" was the wrong word. But that's just how I felt the teacher I spoke to came across. A simple oh I know our letter stated we wanted clothing, but we've decided just to take xyz items now if you would like to donate anything, would of sounded better then "we don't want that we want this, can you drop them off by Friday" I also wouldn't have tried to donate the stuff if they didn't ask for it on the school letter. If I could afford to buy the other items I would.

Please consider making a donation to "War Child UK".

I have first hand knowledge of their work and they are truly fantastic. They are on the ground in Ukraine!

I think this is how people make themselves feel useful in a pretty dire and hopeless situation. They want to help, they want to act. But I too believe people would do better giving to charities like the Red Cross.