Ukraine war: UK publishers take gifted books to children

Thousands of backpacks filled with books and essentials for Ukrainian children have been delivered by two UK independent publishers.

Gracie Cooper, of Beaminster-based Little Toller Books, and Kevin Duffy, of Bluemoose Books in Hebden Bridge, are behind the Packed With Hope scheme.

They devised the packs and arranged for them to be driven in four lorries to the border with Romania.

Mrs Cooper said the experience was "bittersweet and very humbling".

As well as books, the rucksacks contained toys, hats, scarves and letters written by UK children.

They were put together by 250 volunteers at a warehouse in Dorchester in Dorset earlier this month.

Mr Duffy, who returned to West Yorkshire on Friday, said the delivery gave the children "glimpses of joy in a bleak future".

He travelled with Mrs Cooper to Siret in Romania on Monday, where they began handing out the backpacks to refugees with charity Te Aud Romania (I Hear You Romania).

Luke Simon and Zoe Fox, from charity School in a Bag, and two Ukrainian friends of Mrs Cooper, who had fled their country in mid-March, accompanied them.

Mrs Cooper said: "My life has been changed so much by this campaign.

"I am going to be continuing my work with refugees and books, I can't go back to being the same publisher as I was seven weeks ago."

She is also working with Hewlett Packard on the publication of a book printed in Ukrainian, which is also being distributed with the backpacks.

Describing the experience, Mr Duffy said he was struck by the fact there were several generations of women, but no men as they had stayed in Ukraine to fight.

The team managed to fundraise £80,000 in three weeks to pay for the project, which he said was "emotionally very demanding".

Mr Duffy said: "We were seeing pictures of families fleeing to Poland, Germany and Romania, and we just thought if we could get some books over there, and the children could be read a story before they go to sleep, if that eased them into some semblance of normality, wouldn't that be a good thing?

"We are desperate to do something.

"There were lots of parents who were breaking down in tears and giving you hugs.

"Seeing the children pulling the books out, little glimpses of joy in quite a bleak future, that was nice to see. "

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