The Bombs are Real
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Hi my name is Rick Duncan,
I’m a commercial pilot for the past 42 years from Canada, I am now living in Lac La Hache BC where I have had the pizza shop for 18 years called Red Crow Cafe.
In the summer I fly an iconic Canadian made Beaver on floats for a local wilderness resort that attracts European tourists : Ten-ee-ah.bc.ca I take people on sightseeing and fishing tours into remote mountain lakes in the Cariboo region of BC. During the winter months since 2013 (when I’m not busy in Canada) before the annex of Crimea, I’ve spent most of my time in the Ukraine travelling mainly between Kiev and Odessa visiting the cities situated along the Dnipro River- a fresh waterway that connects dozens of cities on the way from Kiev to the Black Sea port of Odessa.
They don’t have float plane service in Ukraine so I have meetings with economic development people from city hall at every city along the waterway. I ask each city council for permission to land a float plane in their city centre. They all say yes, they love the idea and want more tourists to visit their cities. So I have kept going back always taking the float plane exhibit to the next level. Odessa became my favourite city in Ukraine and every time I go there I never want to go home again. It feels like my home is in Odessa now, but I still work during the summer in Canada to support my ventures in the Ukraine. I recently came back to Canada from a three month stay in Odessa.
I left Ukraine on Turkish Airlines, one of the only international airlines left flying on Feb 20th. A few days later the bombing started on Feb 24th. We all talked about a possible Russian Invasion while I was there - but nobody thought it would actually happen. Now we all see the bombing is true. Women and children are mostly trying to flee the country with what ever they can carry, men 18 to 60 can’t leave under martial law they have to stay and fight. It is difficult to fight against bombs so many have died already. My friends report a lot of people who are still in the Ukraine are out of work with no money. Some families or women and children we know are stranded in foreign countries with no money. Many people stayed in Ukraine to look after their elders who won’t or can’t leave. Many others who volunteer or join the military are sleeping in parking lots under apartment buildings or underground anywhere they can to escape the bombs.
They say it is a nightmare come true. We know there are many donation places such as Red Cross and other support groups helping misplaced people and refugees from Ukraine. But our wish here is to put more needed cash directly in the pockets of people we know who are still IN the Ukraine. People we know who can do the most to help their friends and families in the quickest way they know how.
We’re hoping more friends in Canada will help our friends in the Ukraine by donating cash. The donations are transferred directly through my Royal Bank of Canada account as soon as they are cleared by the gofundme platform which can take 4 to 5 days !
My beneficiary in Odessa is Vitalii Zinchenko His address : Ukraine, 49051, region Dnipropetrovsk, city Dnipro, street Tversk , building 17 , flat 129
Vitalli can also be contacted on Viber or Telegram.
You can find my Go Fund Me here
Vitalii has a delivery van and fills it with welcome food and supplies for men on duty at check points throughout the city of Odessa, he also delivers food donations to volunteer centres in Odessa so your donations also help people with cash they need for the basics of food, water, clothes or medical supplies.
Wherever they are in the Ukraine the network can help with whatever they need to survive. It’s a small group of friends but we all know other people in Odessa, Nikolaev, Nikopol, Kherson, Kiev, Mariupol and Donetsk - everywhere are people who need food, medical supplies or assistance to leave the country until the war is over.
We want money donated to go directly into Vitalii’s bank account in Odessa to be distributed to people in our circle of friends most in need. Since Ukraine isn’t a country the gofundme site can operate a platform from directly the best way we can send the donations from Canada is from my personal Royal Bank of Canada account thru an international app called Transfer Wise.
The Wise app transfers money directly into Vitalii’s bank account in 2 minutes.
Nobody knows how long this war will last but in the meantime we are asking for donations that will help people get some cash into their pockets and get any remaining women and children AWAY from the WAR NOW.
Here is a ,Video of Vitalii speaking.