SUCCOUR (A Helping Hand)
HUMANITARIAN AID WORKERS FOR UKRAINE, a Photography Exhibition by Emilie Sandy
Saturday 24th February – Saturday 23rd March
The Creative Canvas, Eastgate Centre, Gloucester, GL1 1AG
The Creative Canvas is accessible during opening hours of the Eastgate Centre
The portraits and stories on display were captured in March 2022, just after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th of February 2022. Many people around the world gave their timegenerously to support the people of Ukraine.
Witnessing the gathering of people and various support groups taking place around Gloucestershire, Emilie sought out a way to connect with a local group in Gloucester who were gathering vital supplies to take over to Ukraine. An initial introduction was made through a WhatsApp Group, which led to a meeting with Alastair Chambers who was one of the instigators of a volunteering operation taking place at a temporary premises, a localschool in Gloucester.
Emilie witnessed long queues of cars waiting patiently to drop off generous donations,some boots were full with newly bought supplies to meet the basic needs of the families in Ukraine, there was also a plethora of various medical equipment being donated. The scene was incredible to watch as people united from all across the country to help.
This was the beginnings of the volunteering operation, as the school was only a temporary premises, and the continuation of supplies were still streaming in, Alastair and his team weregiven a warehouse to use in Gloucester to store the supplies – where a dedicated team of volunteers based themselves to continue to source, pack and send donations to Ukraine. The warehouse is now not in use, however, some of the original volunteers, and new volunteers, are continuing to collect donations today.
