Langford mayor, former fire chief return from aid mission to Ukraine

The mayor of Langford, B.C., and the city's retired fire chief are back in Canada after making a journey to Ukraine to provide humanitarian aid to people suffering amid the ongoing Russian invasion.

Mayor Stew Young and former fire chief Bob Beckett were part of an aid mission with charitable groups GlobalMedic and GlobalFire near the city of Lutsk in northwestern Ukraine.

The volunteers brought food aid to the region and hired displaced Ukrainians to prepare and distribute meals to those in need. They also laid the groundwork to provide much-needed firefighting gear to the region, including pallets of equipment that are now on the way overseas, according to the City of Langford.

The city says the volunteers met with municipal leaders, emergency responders and school officials to gain firsthand knowledge of the region's needs as the charities plan to expand their Ukrainian aid work.

"Participating in this humanitarian aid mission has been one of the most impactful experiences of my life," Young said in a statement Monday.

"It has demonstrated to me that not only are our humanitarian efforts critical, but everything needs to be done to resolve this conflict and provide for everlasting peace."

Langford says it has signed sister-city agreements with four municipalities in the Lutsk region.

"The agreements will help tie Langford with the Lutsk region for years to come – through the war, through rebuilding and regional recovery," the city said.

"Every place we visited, everyone we spoke to, reinforced for me that throughout the world we all want the same for our families and communities. A roof over everyone’s head, food on the table, a future for our children and to live in peace," said Beckett. "With stocks diminishing and winter looming, and despite their future looking bleak, the peoples' resolve to defend their families, their country and sovereignty has not waivered."

The Langford-GlobalMedic Ukraine Humanitarian Project is funded entirely through donations, according to the city.

Anyone wishing to help support the ongoing efforts in the region can donate here.