Thanks to the generosity of the city of Osnabrück, we have managed to donate a 36-tonne fire brigade crane truck to Ukrainian firefighters.
Our tiny association Ukraine Hilfe, Krakau, Osnabrück, Ternopil, which we set up at the University of Osnabrück right at the beginning of the war, already had experience transporting humanitarian equipment, including fire engines, to Ukraine. The crane truck, however, turned out to be a challenge far beyond our logistical capabilities. It weighed 36 tonnes and moving it required a host of permits and a great deal of money. I was horrified, because our initial idea – simply to get in and drive it over (naturally with all the proper paperwork) – was impossible to realise with this colossus. Fortunately, many people of goodwill came forward.
I asked Minister Waldemar Żurek for help. Thanks to his support, I was put in touch with Bartosz Kramek from the Open Dialogue Foundation. Bartosz is an organisational genius. We managed to build up an entire network of associations and businesses ready to help (listed in the attached poster). Professors from Osnabrück lent a hand, especially Prof. Oliver Dörr, as did the city’s mayor and officials, German firefighters, members of our association (Lars Leuschner, Konrad, Roland and Robert Schönberg), the German freight company DB Schenker, Polish entrepreneurs and Ukrainian firefighters. Viktor Antolak travelled to Ukraine to finalise the paperwork.
Our crane truck is now in eastern Ukraine. It will serve local residents, protecting their property and their lives. It is hard not to see something symbolic in the fact that all this happened thanks to cooperation between Germans, Poles and Ukrainians. We were supported by the United Nations Global Compact and the Red Cross.
Acting together produces remarkable results and multiplies our capacities. We must remember this in these dangerous times and never allow ourselves to be divided.
Source: kodmalopolska.pl
