I am a not a great fan of motivational slogans and the whole self-help and coaching industry, but maybe it’s time to put ‘when life gives you lemons, make lemonade’, to good use. As some of the readers might know, I was involved in a car accident during my recent trip to Poland. Turns out my injures were worse than I initially thought, and my car also sustained some structural damage, that turned out to be much worse than just the bent rear bumper and tailgate and, as such, has been deemed a total loss (estimated cost of repair is greater than the estimated market value of the vehicle) by the insurer.
It is an old car, I bought it brand new in 2009 and I really like it. So much so, that when I moved countries, I took it with me from Glasgow to Helsinki. Despite its age, the car is still very reliable, and while it shows its age here and there, it was meeting all of my motoring needs. There was never an expense spared on mechanical issues and as I grew attached to it, I decided to put some money into taking care of its looks and bringing it back to its former glory. My plan was to keep it as a ‘youngtimer’ and one day, hopefully, registering it as a museum vehicle.
To paraphrase an old Polish saying: ‘man making plans is the best amusement for God’. And so one stupid drunk driver put an end to my plan. The cost of mending the car, even ‘on the cheap’ – cutting corners and using second hand parts – would greatly exceed the market value of the vehicle. It is a great shame to see such a well maintained vehicle go, especially given that just about a month before the accident happened, I had spent over €1,000 on a suspension overhaul.
The idea of helping Ukraine again
But as I am sitting at home, slowly recovering, I recall how a couple of years ago I volunteered to drive a car to Ukraine to be used on the frontline by the Ukrainian army. Apparently, they not only require off-road vehicles and pickups, but also ordinary cars – either for just basic transport needs, or to draw less attention when operating in urban areas. Back then, my Finnish friend and I took a trip to deliver two ordinary Volvos – an estate and a sedan.
And so I reached out to my Ukrainian friends and told them how it is: the car might be a bit mangled, but it’s well maintained, and the insurance company, probably mostly trying to cut their losses (but that’s a topic for another article), has denied me the right to a replacement vehicle, deeming my car ‘driveable’. I drove it from Poland to home in Helsinki and I can confirm, everything works just fine, even the tailgate closes properly if you slam it hard enough. “It would not matter on the frontline if the car’s tailgate is mangled, would it not?” I asked my friend. And it turns out I was right.
Just a few days later I was talking to an Ukrainian soldier fighting on the frontline, and it has been decided: as soon as I get well enough to drive even longer distance and sort the insurance paperwork, for €200, I am going to ‘buy’ the ‘wreckage’ of my car back from the insurance company and drive it to Ukraine, where it will be put to good use by the artillery control and reconnaissance unit of the 22nd Mechanized Brigade. I will feel a bit better knowing that instead of it going to the crusher, my wee cherished car will still be able to help kick a few Russian butts.
Ukrainian soldiers’ need for portable power
However, if I am going on such a road trip, it would be a shame to arrive empty, right? So I asked the soldiers, “is there anything you need?”. The answer was simple: they need portable power stations.
“There is a thing everyone needs around the year, as they break constantly from continuous usage, abuse and bombings: Ecoflow Delta 2 Max power station (or analogs with similar strong output/capacity)”, they said. Such things are quite expensive toys, but as I am still recovering from my injuries, it will be a few weeks before I’ll be able to go, right? And so I have decided to enlist some friends to help. Bylines Scotland is one of them, and they have agreed to support my efforts to fundraise enough money to buy at least one of those units to take with me to Ukraine.
If you want to support this effort and give Ukrainian soldiers more power to defend their country – and ours – from the Russian invasion, please donate please donate here.
If you can help in any other ways: know a supplier who can provide such power banks at a discount price; can donate something else (medical supplies, laptops, drones etc); or can help in any other way, for example by offering a free service to the car on the way to Ukraine (in Helsinki, the Baltic States or Eastern Poland), it would be great. The car has not had its yearly service yet, and while Ukrainians told me they can take care of it, it would be nicer if it was battle ready on arrival. For the same reason, it might also be a good idea to fit it with a new battery before it goes into service. So if you can offer any other kind of help, please contact me via the contact details on the fundraiser page.
Let’s hope we can bring some power boost to the brave Ukrainian soldiers!
Please note: all funds raised will be used to buy equipment for the Ukrainian army. The spare change will be donated to the official Ukrainian Army fund. If you want to chip in some money for fuel, or my return ticket from Ukraine, you can do it by buying me a virtual coffee here As I am still to recover from the accident also in financial terms, it will be greatly appreciated.
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