Pick-ups For Peace is a charity set up to send vital aid to Ukraine to support them during their conflict with Russia. The charity was set up by Scottish/British farmers Mark Laird, Keith Dawson, Alastair Stewart and Vince Gillingham who run a farming business in Ukraine called Central Plains Group. The charity sends used 4x4 vehicles loaded with useful items such as medical equipment, generators, clothing, food, hand tools, spare tyres, motor oil etc. donated by the rural farming community directly to where they are needed in Ukraine. The vehicles will be driven overland through Europe to Ukraine.
Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine in February is the most significant conflict in Europe since the end of the Second World War. The toll it has taken on Ukraine is terrible, to see and the loss of life, destruction of towns and cities and much of the countryside will take decades to resolve. As a rural community in the UK, there was a clear desire to help Ukraine in its hour of need. There was a known and desperate shortage of 4x4 vehicles within Ukraine, along with all the other equipment being sent in. The obvious answer was to develop an initiative where this could happen and they could channel their desire to help into something very direct and effective. The challenges of making this happen were immense. Firstly, getting the word out to make people aware of Pickups For Peace, and then getting people to donate the vehicles and supplies. Then organising the trips to deliver the 4x4s. This has so far involved 4 convoys of 25-30 vehicles travelling 1600km through Holland, Germany and Poland to reach Lviv in Ukraine. Issues such as trip planning, documentation, ferry bookings, hotel bookings, fuel stops, vehicle breakdowns, sourcing drivers, customs checks etc. but the determination of the organisers (both British, Polish and Ukrainian) has overcome all these problems.
Pick-ups For Peace has not shown any support to the local community in the UK, but the support shown to Ukraine is significant and deserves recognition. In addition to the equipment listed above, smaller items such as food, shelter and clothing have all been warmly received by the locals in the Lviv Oblast of Ukraine. The real support shown by P4P is that the equipment and vehicles sent are saving lives. The gratitude and feedback from the Ukrainians is overwhelming and shows that it is making a huge difference. The vehicles are used to move people, recover wounded or dead soldiers and transport supplies. The terrain where the worst of the conflict has taken place is difficult to navigate with heavy, slow equipment. The donated 4x4's allow for rapid response in all situations. The medical equipment donated has also added to the already stretched supplies they have received from other countries.
The morals of this charity couldn't be higher. The idea of a group of people selflessly sending charitable aid to a war-torn country, simply because they need it, is commendable. Throughout the whole idea of sending these vehicles to Ukraine, the underlying principle has been how we can get the maximum amount of aid directly to Ukraine in the shortest possible time. In total, the value of the vehicles, equipment and funds donated to Ukraine will be well over £1 million. So far, 135 vehicles have been delivered, with a target of 200. As long as the conflict continues, Pick-ups For Peace will continue to send this vital aid.