Orkney men unload Ukraine donations after mammoth journey to Romania

May 24, 2022 at 7:41 am

From the left: Mark Harcus, Paddie O’Neill and Florentin Clipa, a missionary in Romania, who has assisted in coordinating the goods.

Two Orkney men have been successful in an epic mission to personally deliver vital aid items for the people of Ukraine, travelling thousands of miles and through eight countries to do so.

Journalist Mark Harcus, sub editor of The Orcadian, and Paddie O’Neill, an HGV driver for McAdie and Reeve, unloaded a lorry and trailer, laden-full with mattresses and boxes of bedding, clothes, shoes, children’s toys, toiletries and sanitary products in Romania on Tuesday.

The pair set off from Orkney on Monday, May 16, travelling the length of the UK to Dover, before then weaving their way through Europe via France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Hungary, finally arriving in Romania this week.

The boys’ arrival in Suceava in the north-east of the country late on Tuesday afternoon marked the completion of the Gaan the Distance for Ukraine appeal — a collaborative campaign launched by The Orcadian and McAdie and Reeve to help the people of war-torn Ukraine.

More coverage in this week’s The Orcadian.