Humanitarian Aid Journey to Poland – Nick Bartlett

When Richard first called me to ask whether I would like to support the business by driving out to Poland, I never thought it would have been the rollercoaster of emotions that it was. The experience really made me reflect on my life in the UK, it made me realise just how lucky we are living in the free world and how we take simple things, like a bed to sleep in, warm food in our stomachs and safety of our surroundings, for granted.

I’m really pleased I took part and feel humbled that we were able to help so many people with all the donations from Team Ward, clients, friends and suppliers.

It really started for me on the Wednesday before we left. Richard, Kevin, Julie, Helen, Dennis and myself met at the fleet unit to start filling the two vans up with the donations, from food to clothing and medicines, as well as enough hand sanitizer to fill a swimming pool.

We still had more space in the vans and the money donated to use, so we headed to Bookers (a cash and carry in Chatham) to purchase extra aid – ensuring what we purchased covered every requirement.

Roll on Sunday evening, and at midnight we started our journey to the Eurotunnel (not knowing at this point the highs and lows we would experience over the next 18 hours). During our 18 hour journey, we travelled through six countries (UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and finally Poland) – the sights and sounds where utterly beautiful. When we arrived in Poland, around 8pm, we headed for the Polish Expo Centre where the main Ukrainian refugee centre was located, what we saw was shocking. We found a poorly run centre with no real control or leadership over the site, I left the site down hearted and feeling very over whelmed.

That night Kevin, Bruce, Richard and myself sat down and decided what to do, we really wanted to make a difference for the people of Ukraine and drop the aid to where it was most needed. To say we went to sleep unsure of what the following day was to hold was an understatement.

The following morning over a coffee and upbeat conversation from Kevin, we set out on our second day hoping we would be able to fulfil the purpose of the journey. For all the hard work the team at home had completed, we had to see this through to the end even if this meant going further in to Poland and up to the border of Ukraine, so be it. After some Google research it was decided we would try the main train station in Warsaw and if this didn’t work, back to the Expo centre and then to the border.

We arrived at the train station and on first impression this looked to be a bust as well, the prospect wasn’t looking good. We stopped and asked the Police for advice and after a conversation we were asked to follow them, on the other side of the station we found a soup kitchen and aid station run by the World Central Kitchen (WCK).

This is where our mood changed. We looked around the site and spoke with the team and we could see that here our aid would really make a difference. The WCK team were so welcoming and grateful. They couldn’t believe the amount of aid we unloaded out of the two vans, we dropped a total of 22 pallets worth of aid which we were told would help countless families entering Poland and that even some of the aid would be sent to locations in Ukraine that was in need of medicines, clothes, first aid and many more items that we delivered.

Our down trodden mood was changed in an instant and we left the WCK with a feeling of euphoria by being able to support people in need. It was a long couple of days but I would do it all again knowing that what we delivered, on behalf of Team Ward, our clients, friends, suppliers, will make a huge difference to the people who are in need.