Ukraine Aid Worker Hails Yorkshire's Support

Tuesday, 27 June 2023 06:00

By Matthew Pells

A Whitby man who has been working as an aid worker in Ukraine has been talking about his experience of working in the war zone.

Michael Betoin has been working for Ukrainian aid charity Turbota.

He's now back on the Yorkshire Coast and says he was amazed by how many people from Yorkshire he met while in Ukraine.

Michael says the support provided by people from Yorkshire has been greatly appreciated by those stuck in the war zone.

He's been working with the Kharkiv based Turbota charity to ship aid from the UK and distribute it to war torn areas.

Michael says it was a challenging environment to work in.

Turbota is a volunteer group based in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine. It is run and staffed by dozens of people who no longer have work on account of the intensity and disruption of the war there. It operates as a hub for many groups and individuals in the Kharkiv area, to help collect and distribute aid to the city and the more distant outlying towns and villages in the Kharkiv Oblast region.

Turbota’s primary focus is the provision of urgent and essential supplies of all types for babies, small children and their mothers in the region. That’s everything, from baby food to pushchairs and medical items to blankets. For many, they are the only provider of these items and have to register for their share of a very limited supply.

There is more information about Turbota at https://turbota.world/