Two tour guides from The Travel Corporation are heading to Ukraine with a convoy of 10 vehicles as part of a humanitarian mission to support people in the war-torn country.
Edinburgh-based Dominic Harris, a tour director with Trafalgar Tours, set up Jeeps for Peace in February 2022 after the Russians invaded.
More than 30 vehicles have already been delivered over the course of 2022, most of which have been Mitsubishi Warriors. As well as delivering 4WD vehicles, the group takes generators, food, clothing and other supplies.
Harris has been supported over recent months by Insight Vacations tour guide, Tim Pendlebury, who is based in Poland.
Pendlebury has also hosted Ukrainian refugees at his Polish home over the past year and raised almost £15,000 for a Polish charity supporting Ukrainian people.
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Commenting on the Jeeps for Peace initiative, Pendlebury said: “We’ve raised money and had great backing from some sponsors in Scotland to purchase and deliver 4WD SUV vehicles, generators and other equipment to Ukraine.
“In December we took a convoy of 10 vehicles from Edinburgh to Ukraine, and we are going with another 10 this week.
“The vehicles are painted in camouflage and used by Ukrainian army medical teams on the front lines to extract wounded soldiers.
“It is a very worthwhile endeavour which saves lives.”
He and his family hosted several Ukrainian families in the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion and helped many of them to move on from his home village of Gilowice, near the border with Slovakia.
One family – Katija and her three youngsters – arrived last March, and her husband Pavlo was able to join them in August because he is the father of three children.
“When they arrived, Dimitri – the oldest – was 13, Mark was eight, and baby Maria had her first birthday here with us,” said Pendlebury.
“They spent six months here in our home, and then the last six months in a house owned by my wife’s aunt.
“We’re now helping them prepare for a move to Canada in March, where they’ve been accepted on a settlement programme. So hopefully there will be great future opportunities there for them.
“We supported a number of families here in our village last summer too, but most have moved on now. Some returned to Ukraine; others moved to larger cities for better work opportunities.”
Pendlebury is also keeping busy with preparations for his Insight trips, which resume in Poland in March, followed by tours of western and central Europe in April and May.
To find out more about Jeeps for Peace and to donate, click here.