People are the most affected when it comes to times of conflict.
In waging wars between countries, the people suffer the most. What we see in the news today is heartbreaking. Citizens from both countries are helpless to the situation, while the rest of the world sits wishing that they could do something to help.
One man from Lyme Regis, Dorset in England figured out the perfect way to help.
Tom Littledyke encouraged people to act in these trying times. He believed that even the little things we do can help make a difference.
Tom tried to quash the notion that help must come in a grand form.
“It doesn’t matter what we do as long as it’s something in the right direction. There’s so many of us who want to help, and it will all build to this gigantic thing,” he told BBC.
And that’s exactly what he did.
Tom was heartbroken when he saw photos of families “boxed and separated” because of the conflict between the two countries. Most of them are children, wives, or partners of soldiers. These scenes were all over the news. Tom figured there must be a way that he could help.
That’s when he posted a call for donation on JustGiving.com.
Tom said on his crowdfunding page that he’d drive a 16-seater bus full of supplies to the Ukrainian border in Poland from Lyme Regis. That’s around 1,000 miles! But for Tom, it was the least he could do.
Tom called for people to donate cash or anything else they could contribute.
He specifically asked for blankets, sleeping bags, and even stuffed toys to comfort the children. His goal was to raise £1,000 (around $5,300) to provide essential supplies to as many families as he could. He planned to carry all of it to the border on the bus.
But that’s not all he had in mind.
Tom also said he would give people a ride back if they had a place to stay outside of Ukraine. He asked his Facebook friends (and the rest of his connections) to reach out to him if they knew of someone stuck inside the borders.
Tom reached the border in Lviv on March 2.
He posted a live Facebook video to update people on his efforts. There, he met a woman named Sophia who was organizing people across Ukraine. Even during difficult times, the families he met still welcomed him with kindness and offered him some coffee and lunch.
Tom shared more information about the situation in Lviv.
He said that the people felt like most of us do. They’re confused and have no clue why this war had to happen. Lviv is one of the least affected and safer areas, but people were still apprehensive that the location might be bombed at any time.
Georgia Wellman, Tom’s partner, posted that he made it home safely.
Tom has already made such a commendable effort to help the people affected by the war – but he’s still ready to do more.
After seeing their situation, he posted another announcement to help transport people out of the border. This is currently an ongoing effort.
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