Excited by the image of a tearful father saying goodbye to his family, London taxi driver Matt Westfall felt compelled to do something to help people trying to escape the conflict in Ukraine.
“One night I was watching TV and I saw a man, around 35, with his wife and child. All three of them were crying. It really caught my attention; it upset me,” Westfall, 52, told Reuters. “I wondered – What can I do about it?”
Westfall contacted a friend and together they set up a group of fellow black taxi drivers to transport the Ukrainians who are leaving their country where they need to go. They also raised around βοήθεια 10,000 in donations, with donations coming from various taxi organizations as well as through the GoFundMe fundraising service.
Last week, a group of six London black taxis, another car and a small truck embarked on an 11-hour journey to Poland, with the convoy provoking enthusiastic reactions as it crossed Europe.
They delivered essentials such as toiletries, baby food and diapers, and then began transporting those who needed to go to friends and relatives. He remembers the shock he felt when the buses arrived at a refugee center full of women and children trying to escape the war.
“Emotionally, I was not ready for these buses. Even now I’m shocked,” Westfall said, adding that the image revived memories of his own family during the Blitz – Britain ‘s German bombing operation. in World War II.
He recalls that among the passengers carried by his team was a woman with a six-year-old girl, who had not eaten during the 15-hour journey from Ukraine to Poland.
“She was very, very worried about her daughter’s health,” said Westfall. Then one of his friends knelt beside her and said “McDonald’s”. “Her eyes gleamed like a light and it was a wonderful feeling that this little girl suddenly woke up,” he said.
Another woman, about 40 years old, with three children, could not stop crying, having left Kyiv where the apartment complex she was staying in had been bombed while her husband was fighting in the front line. All she had with her were two small backpacks and a plastic bag.
“She was really into crying,” Westfall said. “These were all left in the world. For me this was one of the most painful pictures I have ever seen. I will be eternally grateful to the drivers who came with me. We covered 2700 miles (about 4,345 km) in just over three days. We helped 28 people to be safe “.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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