This week, I received some pictures of volunteers in Slovakia who were packaging the meal boxes for Ukraine. It made me appreciate the work that is going on around the world to support Ukraine.
We are receiving bulk food from the Czech Republic, meal boxes packaged in Slovakia, hygiene kits packaged in Hungary, and money from many parts of Europe, North America and the South Pacific.
The cars we use come from Germany, the buses originally from Poland, and some medical supplies come from Turkey, France, and the UK. We also received a water purification system from Germany.
And those are only the donations ADRA is managing. I am aware of many other NGOs in the country providing support. So far, I have attended meetings with members of the International Committee of the Red Cross, World Food Program, UNFPA, Unicef, World Vision, Save the Children, and WHO. I also know that those are not the only ones, but I have not been in contact with all of them.
I was sitting at the restaurant of our hotel with some of my colleagues after a long day, when a gentlemen approached us. He heard us speak in English and he told us his story. He was from the UK and his wife is from Ukraine. He was in the country to help his wife’s family -mother, father, and brother- with paperwork and visas to move to the UK. Unable to afford an airplane ticket, he had driven from a town near London, all the way to Mukacevo, almost 1,700 km.
Speaking of driving, it is a challenge in Ukraine. First, the roads are in terrible condition and that has nothing to do with the war, just poor maintenance. Next is the fact that all signs are in Ukranian and they use the Cyrillic alphabet so I can’t even try to decipher what the word could mean.
Fortunately, a lot of the signals are images or arrows.
Also, all cars here have manual transmissions and since I have not driven manual for about a decade, it was somewhat difficult to get back to it. There are very few traffic lights here since most of the intersections have roundabouts or yield signs. I am getting the hang of the roundabouts. Finally, there are pedestrian crossings everywhere and the pedestrians have the priority. They just walk into the street on those crossing lines without checking as the expectation is that cars will stop for them.
To top all of this, there is a fuel shortage in the country so you can only get 10 litres per day per person. The lines to access fuel are sometime kilometres long and people can be there for hours. We have been fortunate to identify a couple of stations that give priority to NGOs. As well, because it is relatively easy for expatriates to exit the country, we go to Romania on when possible to get fuel.
Borders also experience long wait times especially for commercial trucking. Cars can get through relatively fast. One of our workers came from Germany carrying some snacks and office supplies so he was stopped at the border and had to fill forms taking about 2 hours. Generally, it takes fifteen to twenty minutes to cross when you have nothing to declare. NGO trucks can take a few hours as the content is searched, the paperwork is processed, and declarations are examined.
Personally, I am trying out new dishes. I have had potato pancakes that are delicious although a bit greasy. I tried banush, which is a bit like a corn polenta with goat cheese, flour and milk. I have had nalisniki many mornings at breakfast. These are thin crepes wrapped and filled with cream cheese and topped with jam and powdered sugar. I also tried the borscht which is a beef broth with beets and garlic. Many other dishes are offered here with potatoes being a staple food and dumplings being very popular. I will probably come back home with a few extra pounds as everything is delicious.
The bottled water in this part of Ukraine is mineral water coming from the Carpathian Mountains so tastes a bit salty and most often it is sparkling. I’ve gotten used to it and I actually enjoy it more than the regular water. Tap water is not comestible.
I’m also getting used to the money. Although the credit cards are accepted in many places, they are not the preferred method. Most establishments still work heavily with cash. Since we are never sure if our cards will be accepted, the expats on the team have opted to follow the lead of the locals and use paper money instead of plastic. The currency is the hryvnia pronounced gribnia. The exchange for 1000 hryvnia is a little less than $43CAD.
The cost of living is a lot lower than in Canada. Our hotel rooms are 1500 hryvnia per night or almost $65 for a 3-star service level. Most full course restaurant meals cost us less than 200 hryvnia or about $8.
What I am sharing may surprise you as you were possibly expecting tales of war, dread, and pain, but I want to give a different picture of the reality here. Media will focus on the horrors, the destruction, and the tragic but this is a beautiful country with great people demonstrating strength and resolve, patriotism and determination.
I have had nothing but gratitude from the people I encounter here as they appreciate that the attention of the world is turned towards them. Although they are proud and will not ask for anything, they accept our support as they know they are not in a position to cope on their own. They grab on to the lifeline we are extending to them and hope some day to be able to repay it.
A good friend of mine living in the Toronto area, Dan, sent me a picture of his garage with the blue and yellow lights of the Ukrainian flag being lit since February. When I shared this with the team here at our ADRA office, one of them sent me this email:
Alain, Hello! I am very grateful to your friend for the support of my native state of Ukraine!
З повагою (Sincerely. Pronounced Spovahoyou).
Alain Normand