Cork Humanitarian Aid Ireland on course to reach Ukrainian border by Friday

"It’s starting to get very real for us now," said Caitriona Twomey of Cork Penny Dinners.

The Cork Humanitarian Aid Ireland team of 12, drawn from Penny Dinners and Cork Missing Persons Search and Rescue which is bringing humanitarian aid to Ukraine

Truck drivers on the ferry to France made donations to the Cork humanitarian aid convoy as it travelled to Cherbourg overnight on the first leg of its journey to Ukraine.

Caitriona Twomey of Cork Penny Dinners said everyone on board the Stena Line ship seemed to have heard about the convoy and its mission.

“We had a very smooth crossing and everyone on board was brilliant to us," she said. 

"They fed us, truck drivers gave us donations and money for coffee. Everyone seems to know what we’re doing and where we’re going.

“It’s starting to get very real for us now, and we have been finalising our plans, with a Plan A, a Plan B, and a Plan C. We hope to get some rest later on because we know we need to have our strength when we get to the Polish-Ukraine border.” 

The convoy of five vans containing more than 12 tonnes of medical supplies, food, and warm clothing set off across northern France bound for Belgium, where the team was expected to rest overnight.

The Cork Humanitarian Aid Ireland team of 12, drawn from Penny Dinners and Cork Missing Persons Search and Rescue (CCMPSAR), hoped to resume their journey at first light on Thursday eastwards across Germany and Poland, in the hope of arriving at the town of Tuchów near the Polish-Ukraine border by Friday.

Fr Gerry O'Connor, a redemptorist priest from Mahon in Cork, has established a link between the convoy organisers and the Redemptorists in Ukraine, where arrangements have been made for the distribution of the aid.

Ms Twomey thanked people again for their generosity and said the mood amongst the team is good.