Cork charity founder pleads for aid ahead of Ukraine trip

THE founder of a Cork charity is to travel to Ukraine later this month to bring aid to families living in the village of Kukhari.

The founder of The Greater Chernobyl Cause, Fiona Corcoran, will visit the village near the capital Kyiv, where the charity says residents have lost everything as the Russian bombardment has brought catastrophic destruction.

Fiona will be accompanied by former BBC News cameraman Brian Staveley as they aim to record how the projects that the charity has financed are progressing, highlight the impact of the devastation, and show how charities such as The Greater Chernobyl Cause are helping victims who remain in the war zone.

A spokesperson for the charity said that working alongside volunteers on the ground in Ukraine, Fiona and Brian’s mission will start out in Lviv in the west of the country, where they will organise the cargo of vital humanitarian aid by train right across the country to Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.

In Kharkiv, volunteers will use cargo delivered by The Greater Chernobyl Cause to distribute aid to displaced people, as well as to 150 families in the beleaguered villages that surround it.

The mission will then continue on to Kukhari, the centre of the charity’s newest appeal, to bring help to the village.

In addition to clothes, power banks, bedding, and generators, the cargo provided by the Cork-based charity will also include tools and cutting equipment to help volunteers in their dangerous work following explosions.

Fiona and Brian will take their recently purchased combi van and travel to Kyiv to coincide with events marking two years since the Russian invasion began on February 24.

Ahead of visiting Kukhari, Ms Corcoran said: “Every form of humanitarian aid is desperately needed.

“Blankets, food, power, and a roof over their heads,” she said. “The residents have seen their homes reduced to rubble.”

The Greater Chernobyl Cause has been working alongside partners on the ground to bring aid to people in Ukraine.

The charity has appealed for continued support from the public for the charity.

“The challenges in the aftermath of such devastating attacks are overwhelming,” said a charity spokesperson.

“We have been humbled by the support we have received ever since the war began.

“Your generous support will again make a tangible difference in alleviating the pain and suffering of the most vulnerable.”

Ms Corcoran said: “For the innocent victims of this brutal war, hope and self-dignity are often hard to find.

“We must not forget them.

“Families continue to be left without shelter, food, water, and even the most basic amenities.

“We are reaching out in the hope that you will support us with our lifesaving work,” Ms Corcoran added.

Donations to The Greater Chernobyl Cause can be made online, by post, by credit transfer, or by a standing order.

For more information on the work the charity undertakes and to donate to the cause, see http://www.greaterchernobylcause.ie/