Parents, pupils and staff from Holy Trinity CE (A) Primary in Cuckfield have united to raise money for humanitarian causes in Ukraine. Over fifteen hundred pounds has been collected through a variety of fundraising activities and a parent has personally delivered aid to the Ukraine border.

On Wednesday 27th April, staff and children donned blue and yellow – the colours of the Ukraine flag – in return for a donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukrainian Appeal. Generous parents and carers donated over £800. Holy Trinity’s headteacher, Ann MacGregor, said of the fundraising: “As a school, all of our hearts have been touched by the suffering inflicted on the Ukrainian people, particularly the children. This cause felt particularly ‘close to home’ as the maternal grandparents of one of our pupils are still resident in Ukraine, although, thankfully, have remained unharmed up to now.”

Parent, Hannah Pring, took a ‘hands on’ approach as the news of the devastating impact of the conflict reached the UK. Her daughter, Annabelle, is in Year 5. At the end of March, Mrs Pring drove with five colleagues through Poland to the Ukrainian border to deliver humanitarian aid. The trip was completely unconnected to Mrs Pring’s work as an insurance broker, but the colleagues felt they ‘needed to do something’ and one had a friend who was already giving help at the border. Between them, the team worked out which items they thought would be most in need and what would really make a difference. Mrs Pring said: “We collected boxes and boxes of donations outside our house in Cuckfield and I am so grateful to everyone who brought donations to our doorstep. These donations were combined with donations from my work colleagues, and we filled two vans with nappies, baby milk, toiletries, sanitary towels, sleeping bags and other much needed items. It was a 2350 mile round trip and we spent nearly three days solidly driving there and back.“

Hannah’s children, Annabelle and River, accompanied their dad, Andy, to Balcombe station to see their mum off. Asked if she had any misgivings about the trip, Mrs Pring commented: “I did not feel worried about what would happen on the trip, I just felt motivated to keep going by focussing on the desperate need and knowing that I was playing my part, although I did miss my family very much!
“The day after we returned, we received a WhatsApp [message] to say that, already, the donations were being distributed and that people who, the night before had nothing to cover them as they slept in the refugee welcome centre, had been able to sleep a bit more comfortably and cosily. That made it all worth it.
“What struck me the most was that after entering France, we drive along one road, that motorway took us through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland, and continued into Ukraine. At no point along this road were there any hard borders to cross. The Ukrainians are truly our neighbours.”

Mrs Pring has been inspired to continue her amazing humanitarian efforts. She said: “We have now heard that what is needed more than anything, by the contacts we have there, is decommissioned ambulances and medicines, so our next plan is to fundraise to purchase a few of these and drive them over to the border to be collected by aid workers operating inside the Ukrainian border.”