It has. Daily we view heart-rending scenes on the media. In the last 24 hours the reports from the BBC reporter, Jeremy Bowen, have been particularly moving. I have just seen a tweet from him saying Medecins Sans Frontieres have located Iryna Kostenko to offer her support. She is the lady who buried her only son in their devasted garden in Bucha. The mound is covered by a rug held in place by a wooden pallet. Perhaps you saw the news report or have read about it - truly awful and, very sadly, not an isolated incident
Why refer to them here? May I have your patience while old Codger explains ...
Emergency supplies being shipped out to Ukraine from Poland |
One of these friends runs a Christian organisation that reaches out to Ukraine so it was no surprise to learn that they became immediately involved in supporting people whose lives had been turned upside down by the Russian invasion. As you will know, two million Ukrainians have fled to Poland and now reside there - and another million have passed through
No, not our country residence - guests at a wedding reception |
A personal note
As many readers know, Mrs Codger is not quite so well these days. Following cancer in 2017 and the subsequent treatment (successful, praise God), dementia set in. So we, daily, are dealing with Alzheimer's and, I hope, coping fairly well. However, over the winter I came to the conclusion that old Codger ought to be pensioned off. But the events of February 24th changed that
Displaced Ukrainians being looked after by our friends |
They are getting help to where it is needed - the east of Ukraine This has it dangers - the plan is to get a 50 tonne truck to Sumy this week! |
We have been pleased to support our colleagues at the Birmingham City Mission. We are grateful to all our friends who have enabled us to raise over £4,500 for their funds (this figure includes Gift Aid). It's a great work and we continue to support BCM on a personal basis
Interestingly, they also have links with Poland. You can read about that here. Like us they believe that the best help is to support those working on the ground by sending funds
Garden Codger's idiocycratic project began as a respose to the first Covid lockdown. Folk with unexpected time on their hands turned to gardening. We were in a position to help and we received generous support at a time when we thought that charities might take a hit. We set up a giving page as you can see here
We have built up a good stock of plants - this shows about a quarter Hoping they may beautify your border - you're welcome to inspect |
[Codger has already sent an advance - the need is immediate - but wrestling with payments via the international banking system was no fun - does Garden Codger really look like a Russian emigree avoiding sanctions?]
Well, much as before. Plants, as above - and advice along with them. Hanging baskets, planters, tomato specials (always does well) and anything to do with gardening that will help you whilst bringing in some funds that we will send out. As has been the case for the last two years, every penny goes to charity - we are glad to be in a position not to take expenses
You can give with confidence because we know and trust our Polish friends implicitly. So, finally, a word about them ..
Henio is the senior figure - we'll introduce the rest of the family later |
Our longstanding friend in charge of the operation is Henryk Krol (Henio to me). He has a deep Christian motivation combining vision, organisational ability and an entrepreneurial spirit used for the good of others. I'll be telling you more about his plans and their progress in coming weeks. In the meantime, I'll leave you to look at their webpages - the story is fascinating, just click here to get the background
One of the housing projects |
Adas and his wife Rhonda |
National colours of the side I'm supporting |
A bit of sunshine |
A lewisia showing off (the first I've ever overwintered!) |
A frosted cotula - available to a good home! |
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