Unsung hero Nigel Watson from Sandown will be heading out with humanitarian supplies for war-torn Ukraine next month.
Nigel has already completed 2 self-funded trips to Ukraine, taking much-needed donated aid to a hospital, animal shelters and villages.
His travel and accommodation costs will not be paid for from any donations received.
The Sandown man has spoken to Island Echo about his previous mercy missions and why he decided to get involved in helping a far-away country he previously knew little about.
Nigel said:
“I got involved with the Ukrainian situation, as I found it hard to sit at home in the warm, drinking my coffee watching it all unfold on the TV.
“It could be the UK it was happening to. The Ukrainian people, I found, having now been there, are European, just like us, educated, intelligent, cultured and dress smartly.
“I was in a church 1 Sunday evening when Ukraine was mentioned, and I knew I had to do something to try and help them somehow. After the service outside the church, I phoned a Bulgarian friend of mine, who had delivered aid to the Romania/Ukraine border, and asked where the most help was needed.
Article continues below this advertisement “To cut a long story short, I got on Facebook, contacted friends and churches, and started collecting donations. I set up a collecting point in a church park in Sandown.
“Within a few hours, I had enough humanitarian and animal food to fill my small works van twice over and £1,000. I couldn’t believe the generosity of people so concerned about others living 5000km away.
“4 weeks later, I put my work on hold and headed to Ukraine for 4 weeks (which turned into 4 months) with £3,000 and my van and top box loaded with food and clothes.“
Nigel described the situation on the ground when he arrived in Ukraine:
“I found a flat and continued to buy my own food aid at a wholesaler and delivered it to dog shelters and villages in the Donbas, Mykolayiv and Zaporizihia. I saw lots of damage being done and just couldn’t believe what Putin was doing to defenceless civilians in tiny, of no account, villages.
“The hotel I booked for the night in Mykolayiv was no more when I got there: a missile had totally destroyed the main part.
Nigel described the reaction of Ukrainians to the help they had received from the Isle of Wight:
“The gratitude and grace which these people accepted charity was unbelievable. Sometimes, there were smartly dressed people in orderly queues waiting for their 1 loaf of bread, a couple tins of fish, a couple of tins of meat, noodles, a bottle of water, 2 candles and matches. They were having to accept charity for the first time.
“The hugs I received from broken women and men brought me to tears many times.
“I saw a totally broken old man. I gave him extra candles, but he wouldn’t accept more than his share and said other people needed them more. I remember him shuffling away in tears.”
Nigel described his 2nd trip to Ukraine at Christmas 2022 when he delivered aid to Ukrainian troops stationed on the front line:
“I now needed a larger van to transport 900 Christmas shoe boxes (provided mainly by Joan Mimes of Gurnard All Saints Church) to Ukrainian soldiers.
“I met 2 soldiers at the entrance to Kherson city and asked them where I could find a big barracks and told them what I had on board: shoeboxes filled with beany hats, gloves, thermal socks, chocolate, chewing gum, paracetamol, playing cards, sweets, razors and all kinds of Christmas treats.
“I followed their army truck to several secret locations around a part of the city and delivered 10 boxes here, 15 boxes there. I never saw more than 25 soldiers together at any one time due to them being bigger targets for Russian to hit.
“The soldiers were so grateful and polite and happy to receive their gifts. I think it was more about me being British and their actual connection to a country – Great Britain, 5000km away – and the thought that people cared about them so far away.
“Female soldiers also received a box with a pink ribbon around it. Sometimes, missiles flew overhead hitting civilian targets as we spoke.
“By now, I had a Ukrainian interpreter in tow and was staying at his house in the city. He took me to the main bridge that was blown up across the Dnipro river to show me the damage done.
“I started walking around, taking photos for 15 mins until 2 excited soldiers shouted at me from under a bridge to approach them. I strolled over and they jumped me, saying Russian snipers across the river regularly shoot anyone they can where I was standing.”
Anyone wishing to donate to Nigel Watson’s mercy missions to the Ukraine may do so via his GoFundMe page.
The Ukrainian people are more educated then many in this country although their opportunities are restricted by conflict. Brave man going again to a war zone.
As an article today on the Echo shows, British woman and children stayed to support their menfolk during the war, and as told, the woman worked in munitions factories and drove lorries etc to help win the war. Not scurry off to another land and leave the men to fight.
As a small country can never, ever hope to beat a superpower, then it could well be argued that sending White flags would be ‘kinder’ to all, as by prolonging the war, one is merely prolonging the suffering of the people there.
A ‘winable’ war is bad enough, but one that can never be won is cruel to all sides casualties and Putin will never back down as so I feel that Ukraine is being used by the West but a dangerous game and this will likely be WW3
Pity he isn’t as concerned about the needful people in his own country. Another church going hand wringer.
You gammons are all the same. Bleat about foreigners coming to the UK and bleat about helping them in their own country.
Sad, pathetic and stupid.
the lefty smiffy resorts to insulting someone who states an obvious fact. Bit sad really, but then again, this is what woke people do… they insult and shout down those who speak the truth.
clearly this guy doesn’t think that those suffering in the UK reach the threshold, where he will get enough exposure in the media for his do gooding.
well said paul – it is a sad fact that this guy is basically saying “look at me, aren’t I good”
I bet he doesn’t work has hard for ex service men and women of the UK who are homeless and struggling.
Last time I checked, we didn’t have russian missiles going over our heads, or blowing up our children’s schools, the hospitals, maternity wards and raping and murdering on industrial scale, by foreign invaders.
What a sad heartless person you must be.
Glory to Ukraine
Not been on Island Echo much, have you?
The place is an absolute sewer of such views.
What a foolish mouse you must be.
Cant you see WHY the British Government are going to issue what they call a ‘fire/flood alert to ALL mobile phones next week here?
It is because the UK have sent so much to Ukraine, that now, WE will be used by Putin having a tactical nuclear weapon attack here to prevent other nations backing the Ukraine war effort.
So let us hope that when that devices trajectory is assessed by HMG and the nuke warning is sent to try to save as many of OUR people from a hideous slow painful death, the ‘help’ to prolong the war there was ‘worth it’.
I doubt YOU would think so if it was your children.
This is not a case of the UK protecting a nation just prolonging its inevitable demise at great cost to us.
And here, right on cue, is the Isle of Wights gammon-in-chief spewing his usual vitriol.
Shut your disgusting mouth sunshine and do your bit on life, God bless you.
If anyone is more needful in our country, then there is plenty of aid to be had through local councils and communities. People in war zones have no back up or welfare, their whole infrastructure has been destroyed. Well done to anyone who helps.
These comments are deranged, yes people need help in this country too but we aren’t being murdered and raped by war criminals on the daily. Get some perspective and then a psychological examination.
Well done to the man for his efforts over there.
Rich, NO, we are having our children and women raped and murdered by those we stupidly gave a decent home, all the same benefits and rights as our own people to.
Hence the distrust of many now of outsiders.
Normal people, IF being given a safe land to live, money and a home and all the rights that country enjoys would be ‘grateful forever’ to the ‘host’ nation and abide by rules.
The non European rubbish we have allowed here are never grateful just think it is their ‘right’.
So naturally the sensible amongst us don’t want to know anymore, the real thick keep giving, expecting a better result ‘next time’ but it just gets worse
What has any of that got to do with this man helping Ukrainians you absolute muggle.
“The non European rubbish we have allowed here”
Another Brexit bonus.
Some might describe me as a Gammon but I have nothing but admiration for Nigel. Paul, Smiffy and Isle of wighter may be polar opposites but their comments are pretty distasteful.
Some very confused people on here. The story is pretty simple. Man helps people in war-torn country. A truly altruistic act. God bless him.
Just found these comments .
The Good
The Bad
And the Ugly .