A FATHER and son team from Bovey Tracey are en route to the Polish-Ukrainian border to deliver much needed supplies.
Rob Sokolowski and son Luke left for the city of Przemyśl in south-east Poland in the early hours of Tuesday morning with a van stocked full of medical supplies.
Born in Newton Abbot to Polish parents, Rob is driving across the Continent towards a pre-arranged drop off point, set up by Exeter Friends of Ukraine, to deliver vital medical supplies including insulin.
‘It all started about a week ago when a friend asked me whether I had a map of Poland.
‘I said that I did and she then told me that she was planning on going to the Polish-Ukraine border – that conversation got me thinking,’ Rob said.
‘My father, Stanislaw Sokolowski, was born in 1919 in Tartaków in what was then Poland but now is Tartakiv in the Ukraine.
‘An area close to there was recently bombed so it is quite poignant for me because of that and I thought I need to do something.’
It was then that Rob began correspondence with Exeter Friends of Ukraine, a group that aims to support Ukraine by collecting supplies and donations which was started as a way for those in Exeter to reach out to their Ukrainian friends in their time of need.
‘I got hold of Exeter Friends of Ukraine and they’ve got an abundance of medical supplies that they can’t get over there quick enough.
‘I said leave it with me and I’ll see what I can do.’
Rob then went about spreading the word over Facebook and WhatsApp and was quickly inundated with people pledging to support him but then a hurdle presented itself – finding a van.
‘I was really struggling to get my hands on a van but then I got hold of a good friend of mine who works for New Barton Contracts Ltd
‘They took their van off the road to let me have it for a week, covered the insurance and everything, which I think is just brilliant and I can’t thank them enough.
With a van secured thanks to the generosity of the Buckfastleigh-based business and with a custom-made flag donated by TeignSigns in hand, Rob and Luke set off around seven o’clock Tuesday morning for Poland and all being well are hoping to arrive back in the UK on Sunday.
‘If you consider the situation that’s happening in Ukraine now, the only reason that I was born here and not somewhere else was the fact that my Dad was displaced through the Second World War.
‘It’s happening again, that’s the thing that is really moving about the whole situation.
‘I’m not doing much I’m just driving a van with a load of stuff – I’m just doing my bit.
‘We can go and see what’s there, what’s needed and then feed that information back to people here, so for example this morning, all over the Facebook group that I am in, they were looking for mini fridges so people can take insulin over to Ukraine and that’s what I plan to do.’
To ensure the insulin is usable when it reaches Ukraine it has to be kept at a low temperature, ideally between two and six degrees celsius and so Rob’s van had to be outfitted with a fridge running off the van’s power.
l For those looking to contact Rob, he can be contacted via email at [email protected]