Ukraine: Manchester man helps liver failure teens cross border

A man who helped evacuate two seriously ill girls from Ukraine has told how it was both "heartbreaking and heart-warming".

Jamie Whittaker, a restaurant owner from Manchester, flew to Poland with his friend, Jen Savaris, to help refugees.

The 41-year-old said he then travelled to Lviv to help transport two teenagers with liver failure into Poland.

"They're safe now and being treated. It was emotional but rewarding," he said.

More than two million Ukrainians have fled the country following the Russian invasion.

Ms Savaris, who is a cake-maker and runs a food bank, arranged flights to Krakow for the pair to take essential medical supplies to refugees crossing the border.

She also set up a fundraiser, which has raised more than £14,000, part of which has funded a defibrillator.

Mr Whittaker, who owns the Gherkin in Levenshulme, travelled to Lviv with a volunteer paramedic from Polish-Norwegian Nord Ambulance to help evacuate two girls and their families on Wednesday.

He said the one-and-a-half hour journey took five hours because of potholes and barricades on the roads.

Because they were in an ambulance they were able to bypass the 50km (31 miles) queue of traffic waiting to get through the Polish border on their return.

"The girls' families were really grateful," he said.

Mr Whittaker said he was "so glad we came" as it "did not make sense" to be at home when he "could be more help here".

"It is so well organised here in Poland. We have been to three of the indoor camps and families are being well looked after.

"I'm trying to just crack on and trying not to get too emotional," he added.

He said he did shed a tear over the Russian strike on a maternity and children's hospital in the southern port city of Mariupol.

"It is heartbreaking to know people can do this; but it is heart warming to be part of the Manchester community supporting this," he said.

Mr Whittaker said he would be taking the train to Lviv again later to deliver desperately needed supplies to a hospital there.

He said he had followed his father's example after seeing him fill two trucks with food and medical supplies for Bosnia when he was 10.

Ms Savaris has been stocking up on more supplies for the Red Cross, including baby and pet food and chocolate and juice for children.

The pair are due to fly back to Manchester on Sunday, but are contemplating staying longer.

On Sunday, Wendy Warrington, from Bury, who has been a nurse and midwife for 37 years, is going to Przemysl on the Polish border.

She contacted the mayor and he is giving her two trainee midwives and together they will triage refugees.

"I speak Polish so I felt that I could be effective as a midwife, just be there to offer some aid and some support," she said.

"I won't actually know what I'm going to encounter until I actually get there.

"I just feel really strongly about what is happening over there, I just want to go and see if I can make a difference."

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