If not me, who? If not now, when?
Being resilient means that we persist when others quit. The war in Ukraine continues to rage and now is not the time to quit. We are planning mission 4.
So far 12,000 meals, 500 trauma kits and 700 sleeping bags have been delivered to Ukraine by this team of volunteers.
We have crossed the border in Poland and driven directly to Lviv and Kyiv where we worked with a network of young Ukrainian volunteers to those who need them most.
Intelligence not Information: The Ukrainian armed forces are showing incredible resilience. They are however suffering huge losses (estimates believe that the Ukrainians have lost in excess of 15,000 soldiers and civilians). These losses place greater reliance on the volunteer forces and humanitarian supply lines. These volunteers are not professional soldiers or medics. They are everyday people stepping up to defend their homes and families with relatively little training and almost no equipment.
Extensive shelling in the East has destroyed the infrastructure and sanitation systems. Many vehicles and road networks have been destroyed so the people have limited ability to evacuate casualties.
Our next mission will deliver replacement casualty evacuation vehicles; trauma training; and medical equipment to the areas that many charity organisations are unable to get to.
Why should you care? We have been primarily motivated by the humanitarian effect of a foreign aggressor simply taking a country in this modern era. There are very real consequences for the UK. Fuel prices will continue to accelerate and European countries are having to turn back to fossil fuels in order to close the energy gap. Ukraine provides over 40% of the worlds export grain and fertilizer supplies. Currently vast global food supplies are sitting in silos and ships at the port of Odessa. The longer this conflict continues the more likely it is that the cost of global food supplies increases and permanent damage means they may not recover.
Influence and morale: Our missions help to show Ukrainian citizens that they are not alone and create a sustainable supply line that will enable the local volunteers to be part of their own solution. This creates resilience.
Resilience: For the people of Ukraine developing resilience will make the difference between surviving and not. How have they found the courage to carry on and where does the motivation come from?
As a team of volunteers why would you put yourself in harm’s way for people you have never met? Even if you wanted to, how would you make it happen?
There are critical lessons in resilience that can be learned from both the Ukrainian people and the those who have stepped outside of their comfort zones to help.
If your business or organisation has been discussing resilience or wondering how to support its staff, then why not draw lessons from a very real situation?
Back…
