Kelly's journey with Ukraine is a powerful testament to her dedication and resilience in the face of adversity.
Read her inspiring story below.
Here is about my story with Ukraine.
I am manager and IT Technician at a company called SivillService. We are a tiny close knit mainly family run business in a middle of nowhere village in rural Lincolnshire called Tattershall. In my role and with the consent of the business owner we have been supporting good causes for a long time. We do the best we can to support our community. We carry out classes, give free advice and help where we can. That is what little shops like ours do.
On the 24th February 2022 Russia launched a series of missile strikes against neighbouring country, Ukraine. This was the onset of a war that is still raging. The devastation was pretty much instantaneous. People lost everything. They just did not expect what was coming. This was the modern age not the 1930s. War on this scale just does not happen any more…. Except it did.
Overnight the news broke worldwide with people scrambling to start collecting donations. The ports soon became deadlocked with those wanting to help as aid points were established, people tried to flee and still the devastation raged on. The attacks were relentless. There was no let up. Entire cities were gone. Thousands were injured and killed.
I know from firsthand accounts and stories, I have been told that the misery just did not stop there. The Russians were barbaric animals abusing and raping as they went. People were living in fear for their lives. We had to help. I grew up in as a Forces child and knew how much stress communication caused when loved ones were on the front line or in high risk areas. I wanted to keep people connected…..
In March 2022, one of my best friends in this world Andrew Axon packed an ambulance with aid and drove to Ukraine. Making contacts and connections along the way, he eventually landed in war torn Ukraine. At the same time, here in the UK, I was struggling with that very thing. War in Ukraine was still too new for processes to have been put in place and no one could supply me with a name or how to.
In 2019 the world stopped for Covid. In my role I refurbish IT equipment. Much like you see in those infuriating adverts on Facebook where the man walks around shelves of laptops and tells you how much more you can get for your money with not buying new. This is a sentiment I share 100%. We set a minimum level that machines have to meet for us to sell them so Our customers get the most they can for their money.
What this means though is that we get machines that are just not going to cut it for us to sell at a profit but they are still viable for use. In 2020 the BBC launched a campaign called Make A Difference – Give A Laptop. The idea was to use companies with the capabilities and resources to supply IT equipment to home learners to do schoolwork. With our staff sat at home like most of the population and only able to work once restrictions lifted, we were in a very unique position to help. I made contact with the BBC saying we could help. They were overwhelmed by our offer of not only machines but the offer to refurbish donations and to help distribute them to the schools in our area. This brought us to the attention of mainstream media. Over the course of a year of lockdown we processed and distributed over 1000 devices to schools across our area.
Some people may look at that and think that’s not a big deal…. Let me take a moment to explain the process. So, a machine donated to us either has the original hard drive removed or it goes through our professional data destruction software – this is a process that takes on average around 10 hours. The machine spec is checked, the machine upgraded as needed, the operating system installed and software for operating installed. Each machine takes around 20 hours work to complete. Some of them we also carried out small repairs like screen replacements. We document every machine, issue data destruction certificates as required and then it is PAT tested and it is ready to go. We did go one step further though and sent machines out to several nursing homes and other charities that supported mental health and children in care too.
In April 2022 after contact with Authorities failed to get me the information, I went back to the contacts I made at the BBC to ask them for help. They have a fantastically helpful and supportive local team at BBC Lincolnshire. I explained that we wanted to help Ukrainians with IT equipment. They really came through and put out an appeal for us. Someone sent the interview to Andrew in Ukraine….. I got a call from him where he was telling me I could go to Ukraine and help in person, whilst I could hear rockets going over in the background.
From that very first call I felt a trust in him that I could not explain. He had worked with computers in past and understood what was involved and what we were offering. He told me that when he heard what I was trying to do and he could not believe it. He looked me up online and found the articles about Make A Difference. We just clicked and his honesty was something that surprised me.
We still are supplying laptops to Ukraine refugees coming to the UK and have sent them all over the UK. This is what brought Betty into our lives to start with and like with Andrew, we formed a friendship. I learnt about what she was doing for Ukraine. Then she had the notion about starting a new Ukraine support project and she rang me to ask for help.
She wanted to continue to support Andrew and Olga in Ukraine whilst supporting the local Ukrainians too. Of course I said yes! Betty is what we like to refer to as a whirlwind – ‘no’ is certainly not an answer she knows, but her passion and compassion for Ukraine is what formed what will be a lifelong friendship.
If you can offer support, donations or assistance please get in touch. Ukraine continues to suffer every day and they need everything from the IT equipment that forms the basis of the aid we send as an addition to the essentials, military and medical supplies.