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Couple driving to Romanian-Ukrainian border with aid

A husband and wife from Dublin will begin a long drive to the Romanian-Ukrainian border tomorrow to distribute donated medical supplies and aid to refugees.

Héilean Rosenstock-Armie and her husband Iulian said they felt compelled to make the arduous journey because of their connections to Romania.

The couple, who live in Sallynoggin, are hoping to reach the small border town of Siret in northeastern Romania on Monday.

Héilean said: "My husband is Romanian. For him, seeing this mass movement of people really triggered what it was like when Romanians left after the revolution in 1989 and the early 1990s, and he really felt that he wanted to do something."

Some of the medical donations that Héilean and Lulian are driving to Romania

The UNHCR says that more than 85,000 refugees have fled to Romania since the Russian invasion began, although border police data suggests that figure is much higher.

Héilean has 15 years' experience working with organisations concerned with refugees and trafficked people.

She has spoken to humanitarian groups at the Romanian-Ukrainian border about the kind of supplies which are needed.

"I was quite strict on what I wanted to collect," Héilean explained. "We got in touch with the Romanian Red Cross and people working over there and asked what was needed. We collected blankets. That was a direct call from an accommodation centre in Romania. It's -5C, -7C, at the moment there.

"I also got in touch with a GP who works with refugees that arrive in Dublin, and he was saying a lot of issues that they face are trauma-related. There are a lot of upset stomachs and headaches, so we have medicine for cramps and other aches. But then, specific to the border crossings, people may have blisters on their feet, sore muscles, sore knees, twisted ankles. So we put a call out for those sort of medicines too."

"We are also taking baby formula. Tragically, we've heard that some of the women crossing the border, who previously were breastfeeding, the milk has dried up as a result of the stress and trauma they're going through."

11-year-old Róisín with blankets collected at Catherine McAuley School in Dublin

The couple has been overwhelmed with donations, including a collection of 100 new blankets from their daughter Róisín's school in Dublin.

They aim to spend three days volunteering with humanitarian groups based at the border before they drive back to Ireland.

She said: "That is empathy, isn't it? That you actually imagine it. I think most people in Ireland this week, seeing the scenes we've seen, we can all actually imagine ourselves. It's so close to us. I mean it's on the border with my husband's home country. And there is that feeling that it could be any one of us."