Renowned Maltese chef Rafel Sammut had a good idea of what he was to see before he travelled to Ukraine last month, but nothing could have prepared him for the stories he was to hear.

Sammut travelled to the Kyiv region in early September as part of a volunteering project he is spearheading, visiting, among others, the town of Borodyanka, which was occupied by Russian forces earlier this year. The town, close to Irpin and Bucha, witnessed some of the heaviest fighting and atrocities in the area.

He visited a particular home for the elderly and for people with special needs which is receiving financial assistance from Happy Initiative, a local charitable organisation he collaborates with.

“The area had been occupied by Chechen soldiers for almost a month. These people went through a lot. They were treated very badly by the Russians during the occupation. Up to 400 people were locked up in one room and left for 20 days without food and water. People were dying on top of each other. The stories we heard brought tears to our eyes,” Sammut (photo above, right) told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

“Now they are liberated but they have nothing. Winter is coming and we are working to get them what they need as soon as possible,” he continued.

“I had a good idea of what I was going to find because I follow the news daily. I became obsessed with this war and always wanted to do my bit to help. I wanted to give my input, as small as it may be. I was prepared for what to see, but I was not prepared for what I was going to hear. The stories I heard were like straight out of a horror film.”

Sammut was asked what impression the visit to Kyiv has left on him. “This was not a war just for land. There’s a lot more to it. There was an element of cruelty and pique. From what I’m seeing now, I think this has dwindled down. Many Russians do not want to go on with this war. The energy there was in the beginning [on the Russian side] is dying down, at least this is my opinion, and I hope this is really the case.”

 

Aid to Ukraine

“Since the start of the war, Happy Initiative - a group of friends with the support of a company - has been trying to help alleviate the working costs of local and Ukrainian NGOs. We have been helping a certain NGO financially. Basically, they were delivering relief packages – food, medicine, clothes etc – to certain areas which are not easily accessible due to infrastructural damage. They used to fill up their own cars and try to deliver this aid, sometimes walking for hours for the last part of the journey. We admired their courage and determination and decided we wanted to help them.”

“At the beginning it was not easy to travel to Ukraine and the situation was still very dangerous so we waited for the time when we could go there. We wished to go there also to meet the people we are supporting and to thank them. They really appreciated our help. We only spent two days there, but they made us feel like family. They trusted us, welcomed us into their homes and stayed in contact after we returned.”

While in Ukraine, Sammut and his colleagues took stock of the situation and filmed some media content to help locally to continue its fundraising for Ukraine.

“What we did, more than just volunteering, was to visit our friends there, some of whom we had known before the war, and to help them maximise the use of the funds we were sending them. Not everyone has experience in running an NGO and we gave them advice on how to get the best value out of the funds we were sending them. The main aim, however, was to go there, see what is needed and come back and raise funds. I am working on this project up to 40 hours a week. I have a target of going again in November, or if I can’t go myself I’ll send a team, or money or packages. So that at least this home we are helping can get what it needs, particularly during the winter months.”

 

Fundraisers

Sammut had already joined forces with two Maltese restaurants – Noni and Bahia – to organise a fundraiser which will be held in the UK at the end of October. That event will be held at the Corinthia hotel in London.

He realised, however, that the needs of the home in Borodyanka are very urgent.

“When I saw the situation there, I realised that these people could not wait until the end of October to receive some aid. So we decided to do something urgently in Malta. If we at least collect a quarter of the funds they need through this event, we could send them that money as early as next week.”

In order to raise some urgent funding, he has brought on board Noni and the Chophouse restaurants to hold an event on Monday 10 October. The stand-up event, featuring a variety of street foods and drinks, will be held at Chophouse in Sliema. All proceeds will go to charity.

“Some very kind-hearted people have helped us a lot and we have already collected some money, even before the event itself. This gives us a lot of courage and motivation. We are working very hard on this project, it involves a lot of logistics and meetings and I hope the event is a success so that we can help these people in Ukraine,” Sammut said.

Sammut is no stranger to philanthropy, having set up the Victory Kitchen during the Covid-19 pandemic to provide meals to vulnerable people and having volunteered in Lebanon after the 2020 Beirut explosion, where his team dished out hundreds of free meals a day.

“I feel there is a lot of good that can be done, locally and overseas. There are a hundred reasons why we should help people, whether its war, corruption, or hunger. At the moment, our focus is on Ukraine. We hope the war will end soon and they can start rebuilding their country, and then we will move on to helping other people.”

“Giving can be very satisfying,” Sammut continued. “So if you can help is in any way to reach out to those in need we would really appreciate it.”