Duck Paterson told his wife he had volunteered to drive an ambulance from Munich to Kyiv. “That didn’t go over well,” he told me, “but here we are.”
I sat down with Duck for the podcast after a gap of a few years. The last time we crossed paths was probably at a campground at Miracle Beach. It was a story he wrote about a Chemainus man volunteering with Ukraine Focus that led him to the organization’s founder, Brock Bierman. Over a couple of hours Duck asked what it takes to do this. Bierman asked if he wanted to. Duck said sure, and Bierman said, “Okay, you’re in.”
Duck leaves Munich with an ambulance bound for Kyiv, roughly 2,000 kilometres by way of Prague, Kraków and Lviv. Ukraine Focus buys used ambulances around Europe for $10,000 to $15,000 each, usually with about 120,000 kilometres on them, and Ukraine goes through a lot of them because ambulances are a prime target for Russian forces. Drivers travel in groups of five to seven rather than one big convoy, and the hotels are booked in advance. The cargo is medical supplies, generators and 3D printers for making prosthetics. At the end, the vehicles are handed over at a ceremony in Kyiv.
Volunteers cover everything themselves, from their investment in the ambulance to hotels, meals and fuel. Duck raised his share with a head-shave fundraiser at Johnny’s barber shop in Ladysmith. People can e-transfer to a special account at the Ladysmith and District Credit Union, or donate straight to Ukraine Focus through its website.
He is also stepping away from Ladysmith Council after 38 years. His proudest moments, he said, were being trusted by voters each time they marked a ballot.
Being on Council taught Duck Paterson how to show up for people. Driving an ambulance to Kyiv is just the next way he’s doing it. Every dollar toward this trip, the ambulance, the fuel, the hotels, comes out of his own pocket and the pockets of people like him.
You can hear the full conversation on The PULSE Community Podcast at: https://bit.ly/S3EP03PulsePodcast
The PULSE Community website: ThePulseCommunity.ca.
Peter McCully is a multimedia creator and podcast host based in Parksville, BC. https://mccullymedia.ca/category/blog/