The Association of Mayors of France launched a call for solidarity at the end of last week, but the Ukrainian community of Finistère did not wait for the municipalities to mobilize. A small truck left this Monday, February 28 from Quimper to reach Ukraine. It is usually used to send parcels to the families of Ukrainian expatriates in Finistère. But this time it’s filled with essential products.
A group action
In the entrance hall of Olena Bodéré, impossible to put one foot in front of the other. There are dozens of stacked shopping bags: “There are cans, flour, clothes, sheets”, lists Olena. This Ukrainian, who has been living in Quimper for years, is behind the initiative: “I was flabbergasted at first. I was watching the news over and over and then I said to myself that I couldn’t sit still”.
“It was that or I returned to take up arms in Ukraine” – Natalia Badora
She begins by appealing for help everywhere, to her friends, colleagues, hospitals and it works: “There are people who have contacted me from everywhere, lots of Ukrainians who did not know”. Natalia Badora, for example, joined the movement on Monday, February 28: “It was that or I returned to take up arms in Ukraine. I told myself that I was more useful here”. In particular, she phoned her acquaintances to raise money and buy medicine: “That’s what they need the most”.
The group of about twenty people does not want to stop there. They continue to collect donations and if the truck cannot return, some have found a solution: “We thought about renting a truck and driving ourselves to the borders of Ukraine to distribute what we harvested”, says Olena. The group is therefore ready to do anything to help their country.