A British businessman who returned from Australia intending to visit family has instead spent months delivering veterinary medicine to some of the parts of Ukraine hit hardest by the Russian invasion.
Neil Henson spoke to H&H in the few days between one trip and the next, explaining that he fell into his current role by accident. He owns racehorses in Darwin, where his business is based, and after he arrived in the UK this autumn, he was speaking to people involved in racing in Newmarket.
“A friend said he had all these donations and did I want to help out,” he said. “She didn’t have a van, so I bought one.”
The van was loaded up with donations Neil estimates to be worth between £50,000 and £60,000. This included veterinary medicines for horses, dogs and cats, and “wherever there was a gap, I filled it with dog and cat food, and clothes”.
“On that first run, people said ‘Thank you so much, but we need the following and can you help’” he said.
Neil works with charities in Ukraine and here, including British Veterinary Professionals for Ukraine and animal charity UPAW.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
“It’s led me down an unusual path,” he said. “I’ve been on the front line, at vet clinics, visiting the remaining stables, and I’ve made so many friends.”
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Neil takes pictures of donated goods with the recipients, so donors know their items have gone to where they were supposed to. He intends to continue making the trips into next year, while his daughter runs the business, and eventually help with the rebuilding of Ukraine.
He has been in coffee shops when air raid sirens go off, and sheltered in basements as bombs have fallen, and once by accident was driven into a Russian-occupied area.
“The girl who was driving took a wrong turn,” he said. “I told her to move over, and I drove out of there with burning wheels. That was close; we’d probably have become a story on the news about two Brits captured by the Russians and who knows.”
Neil has seen stables demolished by missiles, and fields in which owners are afraid to turn horses out as there are unexploded bombs.
“Vets are trying to do their normal work with horses but find they’re missing stuff, so they ask me and I send the requests back to the UK,” he said. “The donations are making a huge difference.
“They’re so grateful for everything and when I see that, I want to carry on.”
To contact Neil about donations, email neilhensons@gmail.com
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
