Volunteers sought to drive humanitarian aid to Ukrainian families

The landlord of a Midhurst pub is devising a plan to drive crucial support to Ukrainian refugees in Poland - but he needs help from the community.
By Joe Stack
Published 28th Feb 2022, 14:24 BST
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Digby Furneaux, who took over the The Swan Inn in 2020 with his wife Katie, made an emotional appeal for volunteers as he puts together a plan to drive van-loads of aid to the Poland/Ukraine border.

The appeal comes as Russia launched a full-on invasion of Ukraine last week.

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EOUL, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 28: South Korean activists and Ukrainians attend a rally against Russia attacking Ukraine near the Russian embassy on February 28, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. Protests have erupted around the world in support of Ukraine after Russian forces invaded the country earlier this week. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)EOUL, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 28: South Korean activists and Ukrainians attend a rally against Russia attacking Ukraine near the Russian embassy on February 28, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. Protests have erupted around the world in support of Ukraine after Russian forces invaded the country earlier this week. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
EOUL, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 28: South Korean activists and Ukrainians attend a rally against Russia attacking Ukraine near the Russian embassy on February 28, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. Protests have erupted around the world in support of Ukraine after Russian forces invaded the country earlier this week. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
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Owner of the Lion Street pub Digby said: "Like many of you I've had a weekend of thinking about what's going on in the Ukraine and wishing that there was something I could do to help.

"It's not like we can all decide to pop over there and pick up arms and help in that way because we have our own lives and our own families and our own responsibilities over here.

"I'm thinking specifically with helping the refugees coming over from the border of Ukraine to Poland and a lot of them being young families.

"I think it would be a really nice thing to do for us to come together as a community for those less fortunate than us right now.

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"I'm proposing driving over to the Poland/Ukraine border some time next week with one, two, maybe three vans full of supplies for the Ukrainian refugees so I'm looking for volunteers that will help drive. The more volunteers we have the more vans we can take."

He said he is so far looking for donations of nappies, baby wipes, children's clothes and anything else the war's victims might need.

Digby add that, at the moment, it is 'very much a loose plan' but asked for anyone who is willing to help to come to The Swan Inn at 6pm tonight.

"We can all have a conversation and see what we can do to help and how we can get this plan off the ground as quickly as possible."

Related topics:VolunteersPolandMidhurstRussia