Families in bomb shelters, a graveyard of army tanks, and a missile strike are just some of the things Kevin Broadwood saw during his recent humanitarian mission to Ukraine.
Broadwood is one of the original founders and now president of the Chatham-based charity Loads of Love.
Loads of Love is a humanitarian aid and mission society that was created in 1995 as a one-time humanitarian response to eastern Ukraine following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. From there, Loads of Love continued to grow and establish relationships across the country while routinely sending over shipping containers full of supplies and donations.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, Broadwood said he felt compelled to travel to the country with another one of the group’s founders, Ed Dickson of Leamington, and help out as much as possible.
Broadwood left on his journey on April 8, flew into Warsaw, Poland and met with Dickson before crossing the border into Ukraine and heading east. He said they weren't sure how far they would get and took it day by day, handing out vital supplies and donations and well as helping to free Ukrainians from bomb shelters and getting them to safer areas.
"We went all the way to the east [of the country]. We were north of Kharkiv and east of Kharkiv, five kilometres from the Russian line," Broadwood explained. "Never dreamt we'd make it that far. The reason we went that far is that our intel that we had there, the Russians occupied a lot of the people in Kyhariv and the Ukrainians pushed them out. So we were able to go in bring supplies, bring people out of bomb shelters."
This was Broadwood's first trip back to Ukraine in nearly 25 years when he helped with the arrival of the first shipping container full of supplies and donations that Loads of Love sent to the country.
Loads of Love established an office in Ukraine many years ago and has over 40 full-time staff members to help distribute the donations that get shipped from Canada. Volunteers and workers with the organization met with Broadwood and Dickson at the Poland-Ukraine border to help get them into the country and assist them with their mission.
"[The volunteers and workers] live in fear every day," said Broadwood. "But it's their people. It's Ukrainians helping Ukrainians."
Being surrounded by rubble, charred buildings, and abandoned tanks throughout the whole trip, Broadwood said it was easy to become almost numb to the mass devastation in the country. One of the moments he said it really dawned on him how devastating the situation is, was when he was instructed to wear a bulletproof vest before going outside.
Another terrifying moment came when a missile struck just a kilometre away from Broadwood and Dickson as they were driving through Kharkiv.
"We saw the devastation that that one bomb did," he said. "It became more real when our driver told us to take off our seatbelts. We asked him why. He said 'because if it keeps on going like it is and I have to pull over you will have no time to take your seatbelt off. You need to get out of the van and just run and if you run into any Russian soldiers you're to drop to your knees, hands in the air and just surrender.' When you hear that, that's when it became real that we're deep into it...There are almost no words to describe it."
During his time in Ukraine, Broadwood spent time with many people who are on the front lines day after day. He said this included soldiers and people working in orphanages and hospitals.
"One lady that was there lived for three months in the hospital day after day. Seeing all the victims of war was shattering for her," he explained. "We got her out of Mariupol. When I met her, she's just a young nurse, probably 30 years old, she was absolutely shaking, crying all the time from everything that she saw. The devastation of kids, soldiers and civilians that were killed and dismembered. "
Loads of Love recently sent two shipping containers to Ukraine, filled with everything from soup mix to wheelchairs and teddy bears. According to Broadwood, the containers will arrive in a few more weeks. Although the containers are filled with vital supplies and donations, Broadwood said the most important thing right now is monetary donations to help places like hospitals and orphanages keep up with the influx of refugees.
"The churches and the places that are bringing these refugees in, they don't have the budget or the space to keep a lot of these people," he explained. "Some of the places are getting 50 to 60 refugees in every day, and just to be able to feed them and give them a place to lay their heads, those are the biggest needs right now."
Broadwood said his trip to Ukraine and the supplies they were able to give to residents would not have been possible without the generous donations of Chatham-Kent residents. While Dickson and Broadwood were on the ground in Ukraine, he said they were constantly transferring funds that were coming in from Chatham-Kent.
During one of the most emotional moments of the trip, Broadwood said he saw firsthand the impact that donations from Chatham-Kent made when he was visiting a children's hospital. While he was there, he heard the story of a three-year-old girl who could only get access to water while in a bomb shelter by tapping the radiator inside the shelter and drinking whatever water dripped out.
According to Broadwood, this resulted in the young girl getting critically ill.
"Our volunteers got her out and brought her to the children's hospital. The hospital didn't have the funds to pay for a $250 medication for her to get well," he said. "We gave them the funds right there to get that medication because someone here in Chatham gave the funds to be able to allow her to live again."
According to Broadwood, Loads of Love volunteers have been able to take 6,000 refugees out of Ukraine so far and disperse them to different locations across Europe. He said they've also fed over 30,000 Ukrainian families.
"Almost the size of the city of Chatham we've fed over there from donations of Chatham-Kent," he said. "When you see the moms and the kids in the bomb shelter and some of those moms, their husbands have died in the war or they're fighting and they don't know where they're at. They don't know where they're going to go, they can't stay in a bomb shelter forever. There are times when they haven't had any food or water for days. It's the unknown for them, that fear. But also they're still so thankful to be able to get out of those areas. They're so thankful for Loads of Love."
Despite the turmoil, Broadwood said that just seeing the gratitude from the people of Ukraine was enough to make the trip worth it.
Broadwood and Dickson arrived back in Canada on April 22 with mixed emotions. As to whether or not he would ever return to Ukraine during the war, Broadwood said he would do it in a heartbeat.
"Were glad to be back, our families are glad we're back. My wife didn't even go on Facebook because she didn't know what was going on," he said. "But the need is so great [in Ukraine] that I could go back tomorrow."
Loads of Love is currently working on preparing another shipping container of supplies to ship to Ukraine and is continuously working to raise money.
For anyone wishing to donate, he said the best way to do so is by visiting the Loads of Love website.
"We do a lot of complaining over here...All these things we get all wound up and worked up about. People just need to be in [Ukraine] one day to see what people are going through. They'll be no complaining after you come back," said Broadwood. "We are a blessed country...The ones that are being taken out of the bomb-stricken areas, some of them are coming to Canada and they're saying 'we can't wait to get over there because the opportunity and freedom are so great.' It's a dream for them and that's even with being separated from their families and not knowing where their loved ones are."
