Geneva churchgoers send tons of aid to war-ravaged Ukraine

Geneva, Mar 6 (EFE).- Churchgoers in Geneva have sent some 80 tons of relief items to Ukraine, as Russia’s military offensive on the country entered its 11th day on Sunday.

The shipments mainly include clothes and food, but the hygiene and sanitary items have been prioritized since Saturday, Liliana Buendia, a Geneva Peruvian resident, told Efe while preparing packages with her colleagues.

Trucks carrying out the aid are made available by Caravan without Borders NGO.

Stacks of bags full of clothes and basic necessities are placed on the entrance of the Sainte Clotilde Church, while volunteers are working hard to get the trucks ready before heading to the Polish-Ukrainian border.

“There are two Ukrainian priests who pick the aid up and organize the delivery,” Buendia explained as she thanked a woman for donating a pack of milk cans.

Citizens of all nationalities come to the church to lend a helping hand, some of them are Ukrainians.

The initiative started to go viral on social networks and has generated an “amazing response,” according to Buendia.

So far, six trucks have left Geneva for Ukraine and the volunteers are rushing to send the rest of the donations as soon as possible, since, according to Buendia, it will no longer be possible to send any more shipments in a week.

The Russian invasion has forced more than 1.5 million people so far to flee Ukraine to neighboring countries, such as Poland, Hungary and Moldova, according to figures by the United Nations.EFE

ams/smq/mp