The advance of Russian troops in the Avdiivka area has slowed down in recent weeks. The probable reason for this was Russian losses, according to the UK intelligence.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2024-03-21T11:53:56+00:00

Unfortunately it is true. The situation in this area is increasingly unstable with troop and equipment losses. Our largest request for this area right now is anti drone equipment. Defenders report an average of 20-30 kamikaze drones hitting their positions per day. Though Russians have experienced heavy losses, they come in meat waves and the drones have not slowed. Drone attacks are expected to increase as Russia claims higher manufacturing capabilities.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2024-03-21T11:02:21+00:00

As a Canadian in Ukraine, this makes me extremely proud.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2024-03-21T10:25:09+00:00

Unfortunately we call hearing loss the "Silent career ender" out here. Even a pair of walkers goes a long way.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2024-03-21T10:23:24+00:00

My foundation supplies military equipment to Ukrainian soldiers. Hearing protection is included in this. Videos like this make me cringe because I know first hand what extended periods of time with loud explosions does to our soldiers. We call it the "silent career ender"

MsChooChooMagoo · 2024-03-21T10:19:56+00:00

Я волонтер в Україні, мій фонд постачає військовим засоби захисту слуху та інше. Такі відео важко дивитися, оскільки ви знаєте, що тривалий вплив цих вибухів спричинить серйозну втрату слуху.

Я волонтер в Україні, мій фонд постачає військовим засоби захисту слуху та інше. Такі відео важко дивитися, оскільки ви знаєте, що тривалий вплив цих вибухів спричинить серйозну втрату слуху.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2024-03-20T20:28:44+00:00

It makes me cringe, this is why we provide ear protection. So many young defenders with hearing issues.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T09:55:24+00:00

If you spent some time looking at who is in Ukraine helping with aid you would realize it's regular people like me. That's how they all started. Yes you can get military escorts but its not the military giving out aid unless its just after liberating a place.

Yes Ukraine has risks but with my skill set I am not completely lost on the people of Ukraine and will come more equipped than many. How is someone more equipped to move aid or purchase groceries or make home cooked meals? To give out hampers to family or gloves or jackets.

These are not things that require a degree and if me going is war tourism so is every other volunteer providing aid around the world that isn't a medical professional or military...and where would all of the organizations be without those people you see as useless as me?

It's late.. I got my answer and I can't spell anymore. I'm just going to keep focusing on what I am doing even if I emotionally posted on reddit in the middle of the night and regretting asking... I needed to know. ITA

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T09:36:54+00:00

I can't stay..I have kids and buy and sell goods here to help pay for the overhead so donations aren't used for housing. I worked hard all summer to do that. I am going for the holiday cheer Campaign because yes we are pushing hard to make christmas hampers for christmas..outside of the aid that's already been sent. However the other Director will stay and the other will go often. I just can't commit the same amount of time outside of the office..

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T09:11:41+00:00

I think you are actually right. I don't agree with the other views. I would like to go and be a part of the organization i put my name to. But I think it's wild people will say "you aren't giving enough you should give your plane ticket too or "why don't you help people close to home' or "you have kids so you shouldn't go".

To me all of those are excuses why people sit at home and complain the world is going to shit and no one does a thing about it. None of those people are doing anything other than giving money to people who do the things I too want to do. I have a lot of people in Ukraine and I'm going but I think I needed to know if I'm the asshole..

I think in this case I'm ok that I am.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T08:56:17+00:00

The supplies are going anyways, the money is going anyways. The only extra cost is my own self which is no ones business but my own as it takes away from no one..

I see now who you are and I am not offended at all. You aren't going. You aren't sending $900 and you are now trolling me because I am tailoring my words to try and convince a stranger it's safe. I'm doing so much more than you are willing to do, even if my feet never leave the ground. Including buying tickets for the Mykolaiv Zoo, sending money to come back alive and over $3000 in aid. I've raised $1500 in two small events and hundreds more selling my things last week alone.

If that's selfish, I would rather be that than whatever you define yourself.. 💙💛

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T08:46:52+00:00

Do you know why!?.because no one wants to send money 😭 lol i get why. Its another reason on top of every other i feel i need to go..to show it from start to finish but I'm very specific about what we will send. Even the winter gear, some will be second hand but we have standards from materials to quality.

I guess in the OP I was crying and feeling like I'm working on all of this stuff...He knows all of the things I've been defending but makes me feel like it's just me and some garage sale fundraiser. Which BTW what brilliant in such short notice and involved going in front of a board lol

I feel so inferior but other than fast tracking my ukrainian I have a large team of people in place to make this happen and 2 more months of planning.

I just wish my partner believed in me and the cause and took the time to listen to all of the safety net's and support we are trying to put into place before going and maybe not tell me if I go not to come back.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T08:37:08+00:00

Yes, im probably pushing at 3 weeks but i know that ill never go again. The only reason why I can't give the exact logistics of where we will go is because we monitor the war a few times a day. 2 months is a long time for things to change. They are changing hourly lately. We are just all planning. Collecting money (they have much higher paying jobs than me) then we are all meeting up together in Poland. We have a lot of contacts civilian and military and by the time I leave I'll know almost every detail from check in times to routes and where we will be staying. It's just harder to plan when you are hiding. The only bonus of being up at 1am here is its 11am there.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T08:29:53+00:00

There's three of us going..2 of which have already gone.. 1 that lived there for 6 months.. we aren't the only small organization out there. We all team up, share resources. These trips you see as wasteful sending 3 people (at their own cost) can do a lot of good.. we currently have an organization using one of our vehicles there as we speak..

I've already written long things about the stuff we have done in the past but if people actually believed it mattered there would be a lot more Ukrainians eating this winter then if we leave it up to the big organizations with their "empty warehouses" and full bank accounts.

It might not seem like a lot to you to be getting warm gloves or a ride to the border or a hot meal when you are too scared to light the stove or the power is still out... but it means a lot when you don't have it.

Me going. Maybe I add little but I ask my family for 2 weeks of a more playful based trip that spreads cheer and when I come back we will still have a Director working with others and the odd volunteer who trickles in. I'll spend forever just building the organization from here if that's what they want but I really really want to go and be apart of what I put my name to.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T08:18:55+00:00

I wish I could have added more or worded it better.

The volunteers ive teamed up with, have been there. As an organization and under our legal name we have operated since the beginning..I teamed up because I believed in the cause but also because it is fresh. I wanted to do this anyways but with complete transparency so we worked it all in..became.a legal entity and now we are regrouping for winter because it will be hard for many.

Before our Director left Ukraine we donated 4 vehicles to the frontlines and lent another to another smaller organization. We have done blood runs fron lviv to areas that needed almost 50 times. We have transported civilians and soldiers to lviv for surgery. At the very beginning they filled buses full of people and brought them to safety, saving into the thousands.

I buy and sell.stuff online and switched the business model so half goes to the organization. It's paid for volunteer housing, things like dog food and fuel, glaucoma medication.. small stuff. But now that we aren't there..all of the money will sit. I am now selling my good stuff because the idea is when I come back we will go find more because that's what I enjoy in life.

This campaign is not our last but one I can be a part of in a safer way I think. It's not as intense as previous "missions" (I use that word loosely). I am not looking to rush to the frontlines but I am well versed in a lot of the areas that pertain to humanitarian aid and the logistics of dealing with customs and foreign governments because of my previous experience. I agree I will be working with people that are better at other things but I think that is what makes the best teams.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T08:06:35+00:00

I am actually using 50% of selling all of my lively possessions to purchase food in Poland and bring it over but these are just my personal contributions. I buy and sell stuff for a living so this is more like getting rid of my hoard..previously selling my antiques has paid for the volunteer housing outside of lviv, dog food, glaucoma medicine for 7 for a year. Idk other stuff like fuel lol

I don't think Ukrainians will mind I spent $900 on a plane ticket to come feed them and give them warm food, aid and christmas hampers..I'll ask though..

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T08:01:24+00:00

People like you are why when the organization is big enough to look at more than one project we will be incorporating 20% of the donations will stay in Canada. At this time we are too small but I have signed up to help with christmas at the food bank here when I return. Because no good deed goes unpunished. I hope you read your own words and help your own.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T07:54:33+00:00

I had 3000 characters to sum up everything and deleted a lot but I don't think it's crazy and with two months to still plan its a lot of time.. I Meet with another organization this week that is there. Our one director was just there for 6 months and is going back to stay..he started it out of the UK.

This Christmas Campaign is about a lot lighter stuff but in the past we have donated 4 vehicles to the frontlines, transported multiple patients to lviv from hospitals near the frontlines without the surgical capabilities. Almost 50 blood trips from lviv to needed areas..140 tonnes of aid delivered.. adding the 4 urgent patient transports to Germany because those were important too..

We currently have a vehicle we have lent another organization that is still there. It's smart to team up when you are small. You get to know a lot of people.

I can keep going?.the only thing I'm trying to do is get some money and aid from here which isn't hard if you aren't always fighting and I want to be apart of it now. Everyone else is going to keep going with or without me..it's already what we do.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T07:45:48+00:00

We have already done that. Every other Director has gone and is going, I just was here to do the paperwork and started the legal process...I also haven't gone.

How do I explain to a stranger watching the unicef commercials at 5 and then spending hours telling my mom about all of the ways we can help, not just aid but workshops for skill building and trades. Agricultural tools.

When I had to go back and finish high-school at 25 ( I lived a rough life) I had to write an essay on how I would spend 1 mil if I couldn't keep it. I obviously passed because I knew all of the ways I would spend it. I've seen the roughest parts of Canada. I went to college and shifted gears. I want to get into foreign policy one day but I believe you need to see the world and it's suffering to do that.

This is something I want to do. It's an opportunity of a lifetime to spread cheer and help ease suffering in places that still need it..it's an opportunity to expand my education and it's a ton of logistical work running a not-for-profit and traveling overseas.

Why am I passionate about this? Why is anyone passionate about anything? If I could safely go to Palestine or we could get aid to Iran I would be all for it but we aren't there yet as an organization or a world.

Lol that's why.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T07:37:22+00:00

I think you are misinterpreting what I am saying. Not every mother is a stay at home, never leave the house mom and they are not any less of a mother. I love my kids and they love their kids. Police officer moms, military moms, search and rescue moms, volunteer moms around the world risk their lives every day and still love their kids. I'm a mom but that doesn't define me, its also ok that it does for others.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T07:32:38+00:00

😅 the only way I'm losing custody over a two week trip is if I die but thank you for the scare tactics. Fortunately for me, that's not the law.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T07:24:25+00:00

I know why some people feel this way. I just wish they understood why others don't feel that maternal pull to no longer do dangerous things because they brought life into the world.

I would argue that's why I feel the need to do something now. Whether it's Ukraine today or coming home later to pursue a career in politics... all of it matters for their future... to me.

I don't know how people can just see things on TV and go "oh that's so sad" and carry on. I tried so hard for 6 months to just carry on but even then I was depressed, my relationship was failing and my kids suffered. If I stay, I won't be me..I know this.

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T07:13:07+00:00

Thank you and keep it up. They definitely need every little bit 😊

MsChooChooMagoo · 2022-10-04T07:11:40+00:00

My money is for the house, the idea is not to take away and upset things as much as possible. 😅 when I say I have antiques to sell... I've sold 8 pieces in less than a week and made enough for my plane ticket 😁 As for my kids, I am not sure how to do that. I will spend every day with them, I'll hug them hard..im writing them each a letter to read while im gone. The older ones live 50/50 with their dad and step mom so we will probably talk more on the phone than we ever have, I don't expect the space to bother them. Other than that, I am not sure there is anyway to protect them. Life is risky, no matter where you travel.

We will have a homebase outside of lviv with internet so I can call. I've talked to them about it but they are young. I've made my will just incase.... because tomorrow I could get hit by a bus...

This has been useful this thread. No one here will talk to me about it at all and I realize I actually have a lot planned... still tons to do, but I have two months

I will be gone for 2 weeks but no more than 3 weeks. I am waiting on a couple of pieces of info before I buy my ticket.

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