Small miracles, every day

Bringing bread to those who need it across Ukraine

‘Small miracles, every day’. That’s how Tatyana, one of the most tireless volunteers in Odesa, described life to me, more than a year and a half into Russia’s full scale war. When every act of resistance counts: solidarity and taking care of others still comes first.

I am in this proud city on the Black Sea with Ukrainian friends from the non-profit group Bake for Ukraine - in the hot late spring of June 2023, witnessing another small miracle….and this newsletter is here to bring you along with us on our journey.

Baking the first loaves inside

It is well past eleven o clock at night, we are in a mobile bakery truck parked in a courtyard in Izmail, southern Ukraine - and Vlad is pulling the last of the sourdough loaves out of a deck oven, their bronzed crust adorned with the Ukrainian tryzub. A cheer goes up: ‘The last one!’ - someone shouts ‘Slava Ukraini!’ and the reply echoes back ‘Heroyam Slava!’

An emotional moment - and there will be plenty more of those to come.

Back to that courtyard - and someone begins slicing up one of the just baked loaves to check the crumb - a packet of butter is produced, a plate appears with slices of salo, or lard. We stand around in the dark, eating pieces of the delicious warm bread, butter melting onto our fingers. It is the end of a long and immensely fulfilling day doing a full test bake on board the mobile bakery, which we hope will be able to bring good quality fresh bread to people who haven’t had access to it for months.

It’s drawn quite the crowd: the staff of Vlad’s family bakery are here, a crew from the local television station have turned up - but the real stars of the day are two amazing local women, both experienced home bakers, who’ve been working away inside the truck for hours on end, making dozens of loaves of sourdough palyanytsya bread, mastering the entire process from start to finish. It is heavy, tiring work - but the energy is incredible. It’s the first time we’ve all actually seen the mobile bakery itself, and it is even more exciting to see it in action: everything seems in good working order, with just a few minor repairs still to be finished off.

In this newsletter, I will be bringing you the story behind the truck, which dates back several decades - how Maria finally found this one just three hours away from her home - and what we’ll be planning next.

Getting the bakery truck ready

This is my fifth trip to Ukraine in the last year supporting various aid projects - and it is always an incredible privilege to be here, meeting so many people who have had their lives torn apart by Russia’s brutal war - but have responded with incredible courage, compassion and determination to win.

This is their country and these are their stories: and I want to this Substack to give them a platform. I have travelled around Ukraine these last months, from Lviv in the west to the capital Kyiv, east to Kharkiv and through Ukrainian-held Donetsk region, down to Odesa and Bessarabia in the south. I’ve met bakers and chefs and restaurateurs and soldiers - and countless volunteers who put their lives on hold to help the defence of their country. Their bravery and their resilience is humbling to see.

Bomb damage from this week’s Russian attacks in Odesa

Of course they are tired, war is relentless and exhausting and terrible things happen every day, and many people who look outwardly OK have relatives fighting on the front lines: it is impossible to even begin to imagine what they’re going through. But listening is a start. They are the everyday Ukrainian heroes who are helping their country win the war against Russia: and I want more than anything to share their stories - from the bakers working under shelling in Kherson and Kharkiv, to the volunteers who deliver food and supplies to the front lines, the talented young chefs and producers keeping businesses going and people in work - and the inspiring team who are making this mobile bakery project happen.

Follow along - make a difference - and find out more about the Ukrainians who carry out those small miracles, every single day.