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Support for two Ukrainian volunteer organisations during war time.

  • We made it !!!

      31 July 2025

    Wow, thanks so, so ,so much to everyone who has donated to this fundraiser - it has been humbling watching the donations come in and I am so excited to be able to share this with the teams at the Lviv Volunteer Kitchen and PTAHA at the railway station.

    They will be blown away that such a small community could raise so much.

    Givealittle don't pay out the funds until between the 20th and the 25th of the month after a fundraiser closes, so I will be sending the money in the last week of August. If there is still a function open to send updates, I will share the reaction of the LVK and PTAHA once they have received the money. It may well be spent on power bills, gas for their vans (they only have 1 van each) and other operational costs but your efforts will keep each organisation going for a few more months and most important of all you have reminded them that they are not forgotten.

    Nga mihinui, arohanui, Fiona

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  • 3 days till closing day

      28 July 2025

    Kia ora everyone. Thanks so much to all of you for all your amazing donations - we are very close to the $4000 goal I was hoping to reach.

    I have possibly 3 more talks in the pipeline so if I can get those happening I will take direct payments into the bank account that was opened for this fundraiser.

    I may also extend the closing date for a few weeks if I can get confirmation in the next few days that the talks will go ahead.

    I will post another update in a couple of days to let you know but if there is anyone you were thinking of sharing the fundraiser with but haven't quite got there yet, it would be great to have that target tick over in the next few days.

    Nga mihinui, Fiona

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  • And that's a wrap - almost :)

      21 July 2025

    Well today I had the help of a good friend Deb, to pack the exhibition down and file it away - for now. Over the course of the week, there have been some lovely conversations, quite a few tears and some contemplative wanderings around the exhibition.

    The weather was awful, cold and wet, but still those who really wanted to see it came out and many have been inspired to donate - so I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your kindness and support for these two amazing organisations. They will definitely know that people from the smallest country, from the furthest distance from Ukraine care enough to come out in the cold and to support the fundraiser.

    The two talks were really well supported and for the last one on Sunday afternoon, there wasn't a spare seat in the room, the kids were sitting on the floor on cushions.

    I have been left wandering how to continue spreading the word, so have decided to offer to repeat the talk for anyone who can pull together 6 or more people, and have a screen that I can connect to. If that is you, please get in touch via my email address fiona@solotec.co.nz

    The fundraiser doesn't close until the 31st of July so if there are still people you think might be interested, I would be grateful if you can share the campaign with them - we are getting very close to $4,000 which would allow me to send $2000 to each organisation, an amount that will definitely pay some bills for them for a while. Nga mihinui, Slava Ukraini. Fiona

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  • Day one of the Snapshots of Ukraine exhibition

      15 July 2025

    Much excitement today as the Snapshots of Ukraine exhibition at the Old School Arts Centre in Raglan opened. It was a nasty, cold, wintery day, but the heaters were on and the early birds had the first viewings. One person had traveled all the way from Cambridge!

    Feedback has been warm and some expressed that they were glad of the chance to get a fresh view of Lviv in a city, in a country at war.

    The exhibition leads viewers through the parks and streets of Lviv, the cafe's and shops, how the volunteer organisations I worked for operate, and a little about the sadder parts of daily life in a war zone - Lychakiv cemetery, the Fields of Mars and the regular military funerals.

    It also introduces viewers to Maria, an elderly woman host at a museum I visited, and her poems. They are sad, angry and wistful. Viewers can also see many examples of books related to Ukraine available through our local library and there's a whole section on non-mainstream news media reliably reporting on Ukraine.

    And of course there are many opportunities to scan a barcode and donate to this fundraiser -we are so close to the $2000 mark, just $15 away.

    So if you can share this page as far as you can and encourage your friends and family to come to the exhibition or donate, the volunteers at PTAHA and the LVK will be so grateful.

    Nga mihinui and keep warm everyone. Fiona

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  • Exhibition nearly here

      11 July 2025

    Kia ora koutou and thanks so much to all of you who have already donated. We are approaching $1500 which is wonderful and hopefully, an inspiration to those who still might come across the campaign.

    I am hoping that the exhibition which opens next Tuesday, the 15th, makes a good job of encouraging people to support these 2 wonderful volunteer organisations. If you can also share the Givealittle link to your contacts and networks, that would be fantastic.

    I know that those I am in contact with in Ukraine are feeling grateful that we are creating this interest about what they do every day solely on the back of donations and volunteer labour.

    Thanks so much for your support - I will add a short video of the exhibition once it is finally ready that you can share if you would like to.

    Nga mihinui, Fiona

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  • One week and we have passed the $1000 mark

      30 June 2025

    Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far! You are the early birds, first to show you care and I want you all to know that the people at Lviv Volunteer Kitchen and at PTAHA are so excited that people from so far way care enough to be engaged and support their efforts.

    I talk with Valentin from PTAHA by phone and stay in touch with one of the lead international LVK volunteers with WhatsApp. They are following progress with interest and responding to my calls for extra details and photos for my talks and the exhibition in Raglan. In a word they are so grateful for any help that anyone can offer.

    Today I received an email from Valentin who said the evacuees they are receiving at the railway station are mostly coming from Sumy lately and the nearby villages. You may have seen the 'summer offensive' push that Russia has been attempting in this area, taking some of the smaller villages between Sumy and the Russian border. Valentin says that most of them arrive in Lviv without any financial resources for basic needs. He also said that they have had to increase their daily hot meal provision to 60 a day meaning their monthly budget has risen to 850 euros. They have one sponsor for 700 euros a month, but some of the funds we raise here will go to filling that shortfall.

    I will share another update when we hit the next $1000 mark or in a week from now, whichever happens first.

    In the meantime please continue sharing the Givealittle link, every $1 will help + be appreciated.

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