Donations for refugees have overwhelmed the Ukrainian Humanitarian Aid Appeal, launched in Islington last Thursday.
Generous locals have donated spare clothes, sleeping bags, medicine and food, which volunteers are still sorting through. The stream of supplies is packed in Islington then transported to warehouses in Enfield and Harrow, where large trucks are loaded for Lyviv in Western Ukraine.
The appeal received so many clothes in the first two days, it is no longer accepting clothing donations, but still lacks medication and food.
Konstantin Pinaev, who organised the appeal, said: “We had an amazing response from local pharmacies, the local pub, the local corner shop next to the pub – they were helping us to carry things around, drag things around. It was crazy just how much people were willing to help.”
Mountain Warehouse offered a discount for those buying sleeping bags to donate to refugees. Likewise, the Canonbury Tavern offered an upstairs room to volunteers processing donations last week, before the council was able to provide a space.
“In the pub we were literally there from 11 in the morning until 11 [in the evening], so 12 hours straight, and we were only stopping when the pub was not available,” Pinaev said. “The irony is this is where George Orwell started 1984 and it’s like the whole world right now feels very much like 1984.”
Last Friday, as many as 30 people volunteered at the same time. After the pub could no longer provide the room, the appeal moved to Cally Resource Centre on Copenhagen Street.
Pinaev, who is Russian, has lived in London for 16 years working as a tour guide for Russian speakers. During lockdown he shared virtual tours on Youtube. Two refugees at the centre, Elena and Sergey Gordiyenko, had watched Pinaev’s videos before escaping Ukraine.
The Gordiyenkos arrived in London on Sunday 6 March from Odessa. Although the city in Southern Ukraine had not been attacked, their 35-year-old daughter in London pleaded with them to leave the country. The couple escaped Ukraine by travelling 36 hours by car to Chisinau, the Moldovan capital, and are now staying with their daughter in Bayswater.
“Our daughter lives here [in London] and she was very upset and crying all day long,” Elena said. “[In Odessa] we could see explosions from our windows, I thought that I would never see it again. All was lost in Ukraine.”
The couple arranged to volunteer with the appeal as soon as they arrived in London: “We are from Ukraine, we must help.”
Elena’s nephew and aunt remained behind in Yushniy, near Odessa: “My nephew is 35 and all men this age must stay in Ukraine, it is the rule. My aunt is an old woman so she wants to be in her town.”
The couple do not know how safe their family is, nor can they plan for a future in the UK.
“We need some work,” Elena said. “We are waiting for the rules on jobs.”
In Odessa, Sergey worked as a director of a small firm, selling and repairing photocopiers, while Elena was a certified psychologist, mindfulness teacher, and yoga teacher.
“I want to continue in my field,” Elena said, before joking that her husband might have to become a gardener. “My husband is a very good gardener. Maybe [it will change] from a hobby to a profession!”
“In London there are lots of gardens, lots of flowers,” Sergey added. “I like it.”
“And we’re waiting for our cat!” Elena smiled, describing the long journey their pet, nicknamed ‘Flee’, is taking to the UK. “She is in Bucharest. She had Ukrainian documents, then she got Moldovan documents, then she got Romanian documents. She will be here in three or four days.”
The appeal will remain in the Cally Resource Centre until Saturday 12 March.
