A Polish native directing Ukrainian aid efforts in Co Tyrone has said it is vital to continue to support refugees fleeing the country and thanked the local community for their help so far.
Ania McIvor has been instrumental in collecting a large number of essential items for the appeal, with the first of her lorry loads of goods arriving to a small village on the Polish border with Ukraine.
More than a million people have fled the country following the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine two weeks ago.
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Ania has worked at CFC Interiors in Cookstown for the last six years and said the company has been very keen to help with the appeal as well.
“It started with me and another girl in Belfast who got together as two normal people to try and send lorries to Poland,” Ania said.
“At the minute we are trying to send another two or three lorries, but we are meeting tomorrow to talk about sending lorries every two or three weeks to help because this is not something which you can stop doing, and people need help.
“I was speaking to a Ukrainian man on the border today, and our first lorry went to a wee small village to the fire station there.
“That will all be spread to the people there, and another two lorries will be going tomorrow all being well.
“One will go to Lodz, a big city that I lived in before coming here, and if we’re lucky the other one will be able to go to Kyiv.”
The Polish native said that her country’s close proximity to the conflict and the connections the Polish community have in Ukraine mean it hits home for them.
However she added that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a human issue that appeals to everyone regardless of nationality.
“We know people from Poland in the community, one of our friends has got his wife from Ukraine and rang to say they have 300 people in a school hall over there.
“No blankets, no towels, no nothing. They don’t have access to help from some bigger organisations and are sort of forgotten.
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“So we want to try and reach some more of those forgotten places.”
Ania said the response to the appeal from the local community has ‘overwhelmed’ her.
“It’s maybe hitting home a wee bit more because I’m speaking to my friends in Poland and a bit more close to the scale of it too.
“I think everyone is feeling this, I have had support from people from so many backgrounds. People from here, from Lithuania, Portugal and all sides of the community here.
“Everybody can see the news on TV and is trying to help.”
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