Volunteers gathered in Abbotsford on Saturday to help pack supplies into a shipping container that’s heading out to Ukraine.
They filled a 40-foot container packed with all sorts of supplies, including linens, first aid kits, hospital beds and even an ultrasound machine.
The shipment is being funded by retired businessman Roman Sawycky, who said he’s been shipping supplies to Ukraine for years.
“Just before the war broke out in February, I had shipped two containers. They arrived about a week before the war broke out, and all the doctors phoned and said, ‘We’re gonna be having a war… can you ship us this, can you ship us that, can you ship us everything?’” said Sawycky, who is part of the Ukrainian-Canadian Social Services charitable organization.
“What I’m trying to do is fundraise enough that we can continue supporting and shipping these containers.”
A Canadian Armed Forces veteran is also a big part of the project.
“One of the things I noticed very quickly is that Ukraine’s equipment is incredibly outdated,” John Lowe said.
Lowe is a military veteran of Afghanistan and he is a walking example of Canada’s aid movement for Ukraine.
He’s personally delivered suitcases full of expensive items to the country and now he’s quarterbacking the loading of the 40-foot container.
The container leaves on Monday and will first head to Halifax before going to Poland, where another team of volunteers will bring it into Ukraine and disperse the items throughout the country.
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