Waleria: where my mother lives, no emergency transport arrives

Waleria is one of the many Ukrainian women who have been living in Poland for years. In Ukraine, she left her relatives, including her mother, who does not intend to leave the country torn by war. Her daughter helps her financially by sending money for which the woman buys drugs and other things necessary for the military, fighting, among others. in Kharkiv. The needs are huge and the prices in pharmacies and stores have skyrocketed. “It’s cruel when you want to buy iodine and bandages, but on the other hand, the Ukrainian economy has to survive,” comments Valeria.

1. The Waleria family is currently in the south of Ukraine – mother and aunt live in the Mykolaiv Oblast, uncle is fighting in Odessa
2. Waleria and her husband organized a fundraiser, and the collected funds are sent to her mother, who purchases the most necessary things in military units on the spot: medicines, dressings, clothing, footwear and utensils as well as equipment for preparing meals.
3. Help is essential because no gifts are made to Valeria’s hometown.
4. Nobody ventures to the south of the country, the risk is too great. I would not have the courage to ask anyone to risk their life and go there with gifts in a situation when there are tanks on the streets and the enemy shoots without looking at what and whom he has in front of him. The orcs’ cruelty, as we call the s, is enormous, he says
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Getting help is very difficult

Waleria has been living in Poland for over seven years. She came here to study, later found a job, met her future husband, got married and stayed. In Ukraine, she left her family and friends. Most of them are still there. Some, like uncle, fight at the front. Others, like my mother, are also fighting – so that others can defend Ukraine against Our Country as long and as effectively as possible.

There are many ways, and one of them is the purchase of basic necessities for the military: food, clothing, medicines and dressings. Waleria’s mother collects the demand for them together with a friend whose husband – a local activist – is currently fighting in Kharkiv (previously he was sent to Donetsk).

It would be best to buy things in Poland, where there is no problem with availability or overpriced, but at the moment it is out of the question.

– Mum lives in Perwomajsk. It is a city in the Mykolaiv Oblast, about 100 km from Mykolaiv and 200 km north of Odessa. The situation is tense, alarms are often heard, although the fighting takes place on the outskirts rather than in the center, so no organized humanitarian transport arrives here. Deliveries reach Lviv, Kiev, but no one ventures to Odessa and the surrounding area, the risk is too great. We also did not take this option into account. Krakow is located 1000 km from my home, I would not have the courage to ask anyone to risk their life and go there with gifts in a situation when there are tanks on the streets and the enemy shoots without looking at what and whom he has in front of him. Recently, one of such tanks was run over by a civilian car, in which the driver was. The orcs’ cruelty, as we call the s, is immense – explains Valeria.

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«Prices in pharmacies and shops have gone up significantly»

So, together with her husband, she organized a private fundraiser, under which money for military aid from Ukraine can be transferred to their bank account. When a specific sum is collected, they look for the most profitable currency converter to lose as little as possible on the exchange of zlotys into hryvnia, and then transfer the funds to the account of Waleria’s mother. She pays money in Perwomajsk and does her shopping there.

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– The possibility of withdrawing cash has recently become available in pharmacies. The daily limit per person is 2. hryvnia. When you convert it into zlotys, you will see what pennies it is and how little you can buy for it now. For example, one metal mug – the basic vessel in a military unit – costs 250 UAH, or about 36 zlotys. Prices in pharmacies and stores went up sharply. It’s cruel when you want to buy, for example, iodine and bandages for the wounded, but on the other hand, the Ukrainian economy has to somehow survive, comments Valeria.

Still hers Mum has managed to buy quite a lot so far. This includes medications and dressings for wounded soldiers brought to the hospital in Perwomajsk: syringes, liquid patches, bandages, tourniquets, hydrogen peroxide, spirit, anesthetics, iodine, brilliant green, drips, antipyretics and painkillers, but also tranquilizers, because the stress level among combatants is very high.

Not everything gets there. The problem is primarily with men’s footwear, which is now at a premium. – Men wear shoes 24 hours a day, in very difficult conditions: in water, fire, rain, snow and frost, so they deteriorate very quickly and new ones are still needed – reports Waleria, adding that my mother manages to get them almost exclusively because he knows quite a few local store owners.

Completing the clothes is also a challenge, and even here the needs are huge. So far, we have managed to get a few sets of thermo-active underwear, warm socks and T-shirts, as well as coats and warm overalls. In addition, basic products: mats, metal dishes and cutlery, gas balloons with a burner, but also night vision and phone chargers.

– It is important because every family wants to know if their relatives at the front are safe. My mother has regular contact with her brother who is fighting in Odessa. They do not talk much, because there is no time or conditions for it – the connection leaves a lot to be desired – but for her and for us, the only thing that matters is that he is alive – says Valeria.

Everyone does what he can and can

Help also reaches civilians who are in places where bloody fights take place, incl. in Mikołajów, where aunt Waleria lives. It has been hiding in the basement for weeks, because units are flying over the city, there are shelling and bombing of military and civilian facilities.

However, neither aunt nor mother are going to leave Ukraine. They prefer to stay and help as much as they can on the spot, while maintaining security measures.

– There are no such shelters in Perwomajsk, so everyone copes as best they can. My mother lives in the old house of her grandparents, which has a basement, but it is not suitable as a hiding place. In the event of a bombardment, it would collapse instantly, making it impossible to get out. This is why mum stays at home every day, but for safety in a room without windows – says Waleria. And adds: – I don’t want to hear about coming to me. He loves his country and, like other Ukrainians, is not going to give up. He is from the generation that learned Ukrainian as an optional language, who had to fight for their nation and state from the very beginning. And it continues to do so, believing that Ukraine will eventually win this war.

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