It caught a few people off guard when Christian Thwaites told them he was going to go help drive supplies to Ukraine. It wasn’t something the Novato resident, who spent more than 40 years in investment management, had done before. But driven by the cause, he felt he could make an impact on the ground.
After connecting with Driving Ukraine, a British charity that delivers evacuation vehicles with medical supplies and other aid to Ukraine’s frontlines, he joined the group’s 37th venture at the end of January. He drove a Toyota Hilux for three days on a 1,400-mile journey from England to Ukraine.
“I dropped off the bright blue car and they had taken all the stickers off it and resprayed it in green and brown overnight,” said Thwaites, who also helped raise money for the charity. “They don’t waste any time getting it out there.”
After completing the job, Thwaites stayed for a few more days in the country, meeting people and making connections with other volunteers and nonprofit groups.
Q What inspired you to do this?
A I wanted to work on causes that are important to me. My family has always been in public service. My sister is a nurse in the NHS. My father served in the British Army for 40 years. Both my sons were in the United States Army and both deployed in combat to Afghanistan. I was thinking, what can I do? You can give money and that’s fine, but I really wanted something where I felt I could help on the ground, like I can drive, I can pack stuff. It was a heck of an experience and I’ve really come back as a changed person. I learned a lot.
Q Tell me about that.
A There’s nothing quite like seeing and talking to people firsthand. I listened to some interesting podcasts. I followed the news, and I think I was quite well informed about it, but actually being there and talking to a bunch of people, it really made it more visceral, more real and more immediate.
What I found was that people were just incredibly kind. Listening to all these people, I got a little overwhelmed with their resilience. Someone picked up on that and said, “We’re not resilient. It’s like if someone just came into your house and started attacking your family. We reacted.” But I meant it. I learned a lot and met a lot of different people than I would’ve otherwise.
Q What were some of the supplies?
A The vehicles and supplies are for humanitarian use only, and included five ambulances and six pickup trucks. We also delivered medical supplies, English-language books, hospital-grade defibrillators, EcoFlow batteries and anti-drone jamming devices for use on the ambulances. In all, we raised around $120,000 and delivered $250,000 dollars’ worth of supplies and aid.
Q Were your family and friends concerned?
A Family? No. A few friends, but they kind of got it. Both my sons knew real combat and they knew what I was going to wasn’t that. They totally got it, and my wife was just fantastic about it. She might come with me next time.
Q What inspired your decision to extend your trip there?
A I did want to explore more and I’m trying to go back because there’re a lot of different things you can help on. Delivering supplies is pretty low tech, but they need it. But then, I talked with some people who are trying to form a group to help post-war veterans get back into the business world. I’ve got some knowledge on that and the whole PTSD side of it. That’s an area where I might be able to go back and really help with a business background.
One guy warned me. He said, “Don’t get overwhelmed, because you’ll feel like there’s too much to do.” I’m just figuring out where I fit in. That’s what I’m thinking about now.
Q What do you want people to know about Ukraine?
A I think the overriding thing is that they say, don’t forget us. They’re doing the fighting, they’re dying. But they’re like, don’t turn into our enemy, don’t forget us. Please don’t forget Ukraine. I would also encourage people to not forget Ukraine, try to read what you can about the war from trusted sources. Keep it alive. Keep it in the front of your mind.
Originally Published:
<