The humans behind humanitarian aid
Tony Elliston began setting up the Harwich Ukraine Support Project (HUSP) in March 2022, immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine. As well as focusing on collecting general aid, the first fundraising activity raised £8,000 for an emergency ambulance. It was rammed full of medical supplies and was delivered in June 2022 to the Ukrainian-Moldavan border. Subsequent aid trips to Moldova have topped up the ambulance’s supplies. In the group’s Harwich headquarters there are still 15 pallets of medical aid waiting to be transported, delayed due to the cost of fuel.
Tony, who is 71, said that each pallet is worth on average of £10,000. They were going to be sent to landfill before a “network of charities” helped Tony intervene.
For the size of vehicle I am in currently – a jumbo transit – the cost of diesel is about £1,100 for the round trip. It would cost a further £3,000 for the ’18 tonner’ and around £4,000 for an articulated truck. So fuel is the most significant cost – and barrier – to trips for HUSP, as well as TEECH and UK Aid or any type of long distance direct aid. The highly valuable aid itself is, relatively, the least difficult part to secure.
Tony says the “government is missing a trick” in supporting aid to Ukraine particularly with GiftAid. This is the 25% government addition to taxpayer’s charity donations which does not apply to goods that are physically donated, rather than sold in charity shops. If GiftAid was changed to apply to physical donations, Tony said the cost of fuel would be covered easily, meaning “an extra six trips a year or more” would be possible. Even in the past week, someone who read about the upcoming March trip from a previous article of mine, had volunteered as a last-minute driver. But due to fuel costs he could not be added.
Another positive sign of people’s enthusiasm is HUSP’s charity shop on Harwich’s high street, which was originally set up as an aid drop-off that started in November 2022, increasing visibility and accessibility. In the past few months, the volume of donated goods in the charity shop, and the public buying from it, has seen a “small surplus” – with all the money going to the crucial fuel costs.
Tony also revealed the charity shop – which gives priority clothing and goods straight to Ukraine – gets a lot of donations from Stansted Airport. These are items people have left behind or lost, or even unclaimed luggage – all can be put to use.
While Tony drives through Poland, he says that with the media coverage of the war, his “main surprise” is how “the focus has gone off Ukraine in recent months”. Though the conflicts and war in Syria and Israel-Gaza are extremely important and serious, Tony says that the “cost of the Ukraine not succeeding is that it will affect everybody”.
He knows – and the Kremlin has indicated – it wouldn’t stop with Ukraine. Tony says: “Politically and geographically Europe is in danger. Looking out at the very flat land of Poland, that would be next to be invaded if Russia does win in Ukraine. This is why doing these aid trips is so important, as you are working for your grandchildren so they can live in a free society.”
“You don’t want your grandchildren dragged into a conflict like teenagers are in Ukraine, with 18-19-20 year-olds fighting in the war”.
Tony has been making enquiries with the government about helping the reconstruction of Ukraine. Even if Ukraine wins, he says, there will be an enormous number of vulnerable people without homes and possessions needing immediate charity and long-term aid. The longer the war goes on, the worse it will be.
