Construction boss drives work van to Ukraine to hand out supplies

The owner of a Birmingham-based contractor has spoken of his “emotional” journey to Ukraine to deliver supplies to refugees in his work van.

Alex Willis, founder and director of M Squared Building Services, said he was confronted with “horrific” scenes on arrival at Poland’s border with the war-torn country.

He travelled with three friends after being stirred into action by upsetting scenes on television.

“I have a little boy, and seeing the kids on the news made me feel bad,” Willis told CN. “On Wednesday 2 March I set up a Go Fund Me page – and by the Monday we were on our way.”

Willis and his companions raised £4,500 from friends and contacts but were also unexpectedly contacted by a number of charities donating physical items. Social media campaign Help to Make Tummies Full sent over 300 first aid kits, 300 foil blankets, 50 bottles of Calpol, 200 pairs of children’s gloves, and other supplies.

The M Squared-led team spent much of the weekend packing a company van and borrowed trailer with everything donated.

“We left on the Monday evening after a couple of the lads had done a full day’s work,” said Willis. “We drove through the night and after 25 hours we reached Kraków, where we slept Tuesday night in a hotel.”

They rose early the following morning and headed for the border, where things were less organised than they had imagined.

“We had no plan,” said Willis. “The police wanted us to drop stuff at a local sports hall but there was no-one managing it and we could see people coming through with nothing.

“Instead, we went to a private car park, threw everything over the fence and set up a kind of stall. There was a steady stream of people walking into the country – it was horrific.

“The first person I saw was a mother who had been walking for three days carrying a baby. We gave her a baby carrier; it was quite emotional. We put 200 pairs of gloves onto children’s hands that day.”

Fed up with perceived lack of action from official organisations, the men crossed the border with a representative of the Red Cross and handed over water and nappies among other supplies.

After about six hours they had given everything away.

“We drove back in one go,” said Willis. “We returned on Thursday night. I was very tight, my back hurt and I was tired, but it was my wife’s grandad’s eightieth birthday, so we went out for dinner.”

He urges others in the industry to consider making the trip but warns it was harder than expected.

“My experience and contacts helped and I had a team running projects back home that gave us a freedom to do it. The logistics was bread and butter for us,” Willis said. “I would encourage people to do it but don’t underestimate it. It was tough.”

The experience has not helped Willis feel better when watching the news – but has not put him off repeating the effort.

“It has made me angrier than ever, having witnessed the children coming through,” he added. “I try not to think about it. We are going back in a couple of weeks as we still have £3,000 of donations.

“We will fly to Kraków, hire a van and buy supplies in Poland as it is so much cheaper. Then we will go straight to the same spot on the border.”