"It's out of love for you, my child. You are my child, and I love you, and I want to stay with you. But you are safe, and the children there are not. They need protection."- said Peter Fouche, a British volunteer medic, to his daughter Nikola
Rose Fouche, 87, flew from South Africa to eastern Ukraine, traveling tens of thousands of kilometers to come to the Kharkiv region to see her son Peter.
- I came to see my son, just to show him my love. I missed him, but he is doing wonderful things here. He cares about people here.
This winter, Peter recorded this desperate video for the Western world. Peter is a British volunteer paramedic who, after seeing children die at the beginning of a full-scale war, could not stay at home and went to Ukraine. It was his love for his daughter, Nikola, that motivated him to get involved. I said: "It's out of love for you, my child. You are my child, and I love you, and I want to stay with you. But you are safe, and the children there are not. They need protection."
Once in Ukraine, Peter helped build a field hospital in Brovary and received medical training. Then came Kharkiv, Bakhmut, Sievierodonetsk, and the first lives were saved on the battlefield. Together with a Ukrainian from the UK, Tatiana Millard, Peter created Project Konstantin, an organization that has been supporting civilians and medics during the war. It was named in honor of their friend who died in the battle for Kherson. With the support of international donors, who provided them with the necessary equipment. They repeatedly saved lives and each other until the last day, when Tetiana was killed on a mission. It was a heavy loss for Peter... Now he is fighting in her memory. In a difficult moment, he tries to cheer up the wounded with his British humor. Peter's soul is warmed by thoughts of his daughter, Nikola, who is waiting for him at home alive. He also receives messages from the rescued soldiers who send him their photos from time to time. "Thank you for saving my life, I'm back in the ranks."
This meeting with his mother in the frontline Kharkiv region became a breath of fresh air for Peter to continue fighting for Ukraine.
- This is my mom, my example. You look incredible!
- My Peter! My boy!
She stayed with her son in this modest room for a while and then returned home. And Peter remains with Ukraine and continues to save Ukrainian soldiers in fierce battles.
Caring about animals is the emotional outlet for Ukrainians
"At first, they come to you for food and shelter. To escape the shelling... And then you can't leave anyone there anymore. Sometimes we were both taken out with shell shock...) There were some wounded... But we are trying to evacuate all of them from here. Sometimes evacuation is forced... Sometimes it is not without it) There are a lot of them and our guys care and worry about them. Sometimes it is so hard to say goodbye to them... But it is better for them. And thanks to our friends, they go to the vets and new families! In total, we have evacuated more than 200 animals from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts over the past year. But there are still so many of them staying here, and they are all waiting for you!"
Even in the darkest time we never forget about the smallest one. There will be a series with this title. Don't worry. Kindness is always right beside us.
Please keep spreading our voices, and donate to our army and combat medics (savelife.in.ua, prytulafoundation.org, Serhii Sternenko, hospitallers.life, ptahy.vidchui.org and u24.gov.ua).