Thursday 24 February 2022
The day Russia invaded Ukraine, Hundreds of Thousands of refugees where fleeing their homes, and we strongly felt we had to help somehow.
We held an emergency trustees meeting, and prayed......that was it...we where going to help.
We contacted our Romanian friends - We had 1 Baptist church and 1 Christian children’s summer camp as primary contacts.
Our contacts where already actively supporting hundreds of refugees as they fled across to Sighetu, on the Romanian/Ukraine boarder.
Sighetu was perfectly situated to offer help being only 300 meters from the boarder.
We posted on our Facebook page and invited the evening news to drum up support locally and beyond. Starting with a couple of boxes,.....to being completely over run from floor to ceiling.
We had to close our daily charity operations in order to accommodate the huge influx of aid that was coming in by foot, van and lorry every 10 minutes.
A local garage and Gosport council lent us buildings to store the vast amount, it was a mammoth task, and at times we wondered what we had started.
Sorting through the thousands upon thousands of boxes bags, but we soon had a military style operation set up and over 150 volunteers locally came along to spend their time helping.
Boxes, clothes, first aid, toiletries, medical supplies, bedding, pushchairs etc.
Our community in a crisis is unlike any other and every single person, group, Doctors, chemist church, charity, Gosport council ,police, fire service, schools, all stepped up and donated funds, or helped us to pack/sort donations and load artics, truly amazing.
Volunteers where working like clock work to get all the aid packed and ready for the transport.
Gosport Fire Department helping to pack the Aid
All the clothes where ready in white bags with tags on....in English and Translated into Ukraine
Boxes, tagged and ready to go
Transportation Day
Three vans and a trailer (fully loaded) - with 6 Volunteers ready to go
1 Artic ready to be loaded with Aid
Aid Trip 1
Missionaries: Stuart, Paul and 4 Volunteers
Destination: Northern Romania
We set off with three vans and a trailer loaded up with aid.
Myself and my son Paul driving in one van and volunteers in the other vans six of us in total it took three days to arrive at our destination in Romania.
A very emotional trip a we saw first-hand the masses of families fleeing their homes in Ukraine. It was distressing to see the families, woman and children only as the men had all stayed behind.
We did find comfort in the support the Romanians had set up churches, changed into refugee centres with beds in every corner.
Aid Trip 2
Missionaries: Lorraine and Stuart
Destination: Northern Romania and Southern Ukraine
Lorraine and I flew out to meet the artic, which had left a few days before us. We spent our time delivering the aid into the Ukraine villages and network of churches with the Romanians.
Lorraine and I visited both the summer camp and the Baptist church in Romania, which had been transformed into make shift refugee centres. We met and had meals with the Ukraine refugees, listening to their stories were both surreal and heart breaking.
We arrived back in the UK on Saturday 2nd April 2022
Aid Trip 7
Missionary: Ian
Destination: Northern Romania and Ukraine (Donbas Region - War Zone)
Ian's trip into Ukraine took him to the Donbas region with Pastor Ovi from the summer camp and his son. They delivered aid to the soldiers on the front line.
Visits continued throughout the summer 2022 from Gosport (Jacobs well) to sigutt Romanina
We roughly sorted loaded packed and transported an articulated lorry of aid, every two weeks. This aid was destined to be split half a load to the summer camp and the other half to the Baptist church both in Sighet, they distributed into Ukraine where it was needed.
Our manager Ian and I Visited to meet the lorry in Romania on this occasion in summer 2022 we were stopped from going into Ukraine at the border. Therefore, we left the aid with the Romanians who took it a few days later, we returned home to Gosport.
We will continue to support both the Baptist church and the summer camp for as long as we can and they need our help.
They are dedicated men and woman of God and they believe in Gods protection over the work they do, but your prayers are needed for them as they put themselves in ever more dangerous situations to assist the people of Ukraine in their hour of need.
Jacobs Well Care Centre
Toronto Place, Gosport, PO12 4UZ
Website: www.jacobswell.charity
Email: enquiries@jacobswellcarecentre.co.uk
Telephone: 023 9258 3050
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Charity Number: 1104075