12 Oct 2026
A mother and son team from St Albans will be driving desperately needed supplies into the wartorn heart of Ukraine.
Norma McComb, 54, and her 21-year-old son Reuben will be heading off in an evacuation vehicle on October 21 as part of a convoy supporting the war effort in the beleaguered country.
They will be joining Driving Ukraine, a grassroots aid operation that supplies Ukrainian frontline medic units with the vehicles they need for evacuations.
Lifestyle coach Norma explained why they were risking their lives taking part in such a dangerous mission: “In May 2022 a young woman named Yuliia came into our lives under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
“She immediately became part of the family and made a big impression on us all. She is brave, intelligent, kind and fiercely proud of her country and people.
“After some months with us, Yuliia felt she needed to return to her family and support the war effort through her work as a journalist.
“We have kept in touch with her ever since and even managed to see her again briefly but we miss her and worry about her and her family particularly as she is now in Kyiv where attacks happen almost nightly.
“This is a journey of 1,318 miles over three days from Oxfordshire to Lviv in Ukraine where we will drop the vehicle and reunite with Yuliia. We will be travelling as part of a convoy organised by Driving Ukraine and filling the vehicle with much needed supplies.”
Reuben is currently studying geography at the University of Birmingham and is about to start a year studying abroad in Belgium: “Hosting Yulia just before I went to university allowed me to learn about the lives of people actually living in warzones, and I found it humbling how much I didn’t know.”
Norma, who has previously taken part in other foreign aid projects, working with young people in Brazil and Kenya, added: “The urgent need for international support in Ukraine is undeniable. The longer the invasion persists, the more challenging it becomes for Ukraine. The toll of the conflict is staggering. Since February 24 2022, tens of thousands of civilians have been killed by aerial attacks. Over 1,000 medical facilities have been destroyed. Every nine minutes, there is an attempted evacuation of the wounded from the front lines.
“Vehicles, aid, and international support are more necessary than ever before. Every donation will turn into real vehicles, in real places, saving real lives.”
On arrival in Lviv, their vehicle will be handed to the Driving Ukraine workshop, run by veterans, where it will be adapted for frontline use. It will then be taken deeper into the country by medics for evacuation of the wounded.
You can donate to their mission at: https://donorbox.org/normaandreuben
