Two Monmouthshire councillors undertook a mission of mercy to the Polish border to deliver vital medical supplies on behalf of a charity to a Ukrainian refugee camp in Krakow.

Councillor Richard John, Leader of Monmouthshire County Council and community councillor and deputy chair of Monmouth Conservative Association Hannah Jarvis, volunteered to undertake the 2,500-mile journey for ‘Bridge to Unity UK’, a charity who offers community aid to those in need, including individuals and families seeking sanctuary.

Bridge to Unity UK was born from the success of Ems4Afghans, a community group set up by RAF veteran Matt Simmons in response to the 2021 refugee crisis in Afghanistan.

He and three other volunteers work with other NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to offer support to those in need and last week delivered an ambulance, paid for through their Just Giving campaign, to a Polish NGO providing emergency medical aid to refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Richard and Hannah offered to drive the donated and purchased medical supplies for them to drop off at certain points ready for the NGO in Poland. Although their petrol expenses were covered, the pair paid for their own accommodation and food. On the journey there, they saw other humanitarian trips as they travelled along autobahn 4 through southern Germany including a convoy from Lille.

“We reached the outskirts of Krakov early afternoon on Saturday and transferred much of the medical equipment and supplies we had carried to a team who planned to take it to Lviv in Ukraine” said Richard.

“It would not have been safe for us to make this journey ourselves, so local charity workers who speak the language will be doing that. Their last attempted delivery had to be aborted as they were instructed to evacuate Lviv”.

The pair made a further delivery of equipment just outside Krakov late afternoon then stayed there on Saturday night, leaving at 6.30am on Sunday.

“The roads were quieter across Europe on Sunday so we made faster progress, travelling back through Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and back to Calais. We arrived back in Monmouthshire just after 2am, the journey home taking us almost 21 hours”, he said. “In Monmouthshire I’ve been really proud of the generosity of local residents in fundraising, but also offering accommodation for Ukrainian families. We all have a moral duty to do everything we possibly can to help and while we’re doing all we can at the county council, I felt this journey was something I could do personally to help in some small way. It was a tiring drive, but nothing compared to the sacrifices and bravery of so many charity volunteers on the ground in Ukraine, supporting families who are being forced to leave everything behind.

“It was an extraordinary journey and one that brought home to me just how geographically close to us this conflict is. On the road we saw a number of Ukrainian vehicles, some with rickety trailers full of a family’s entire possessions.

“We also saw the many British military planes at Krakow International Airport, which made us feel very proud to know Britain is leading the way in supporting Ukraine with humanitarian aid and military might”, he added. To support Bridge to Unity UK please visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/matt-simmons-1