THOUSANDS of donations from both Andover and Overton residents have arrived in Poland after a mammoth collection to help those fleeing war-torn Ukraine.
Two lorries full of essential aid items arrived at Saint Barbara church in Krzykawa near Krakow this morning (Saturday, March 12), where they'll now be distributed onwards to refugees in Poland and those across the border in Ukraine.
Rainy Carter, 49, originally spearheaded the donation drive for Overton through a group Facebook page.
The King’s Meadow resident, who felt "helpless" after talking to her Ukrainian friend, said she decided to start the collection to support those in desperate need of supplies having been forced from their homes, many by foot.
After receiving an "incredible" response from village residents who flocked to take their contributions to collection points which were set up around Overton, Rainy arranged for the donations to be taken to Andover, where both Able and Cole and Andover storage had offered up a space for the aid items to be temporarily held.
From there, Edyta Janiso-Szkutkowska, who runs Delicatessen 13, a Polish shop in Junction Road, organised for the donations to be shipped to Poland by lorry, with two drivers setting off on the near three-day trip during the week.
"I got the news this morning that both lorries have now arrived safely in Poland, which is absolutely fantastic," Rainy said.
"It's just full credit to everyone who gave to the collections, the generosity has been amazing.
"The lorry drivers Piotr and Arkadiusz need to be mentioned as well, they've had to go through the challenge of getting everything through customs and actually travelling across Europe, so to hear they arrived this morning was just so overwhelming.
"There were so many questions around the logistics - people were asking how we'd get there and whether we'd be able to meet the right regulations - so for everyone to see the end result after such a huge operation, which I played just one small part of in Overton, is such a relief. It's just phenomenal, really phenomenal.
"It's a small gesture from our part of the world but it will make a massive difference."
Both drivers are now heading back to the UK, but they won't be staying for long.
Rainy says there is still a whopping three lorries worth of donations to be taken, with another trip already planned for next week.
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