As aid for Ukraine continues to pour in from across the globe, a group of East Aucklanders have united to help brace the vulnerable in Ukraine for the coming winter.
In three months, the people of Ukraine will experience the colder months along with nine months of being invaded by Russia.
January to March are the coldest months of the year for the besieged European country.
The invasion has created the largest postwar refugee crisis in Europe. The UN Refugee Agency says more than 7.1 million people are estimated to be internally displaced in Ukraine homes and over 8.7 million have so far crossed the border from Ukraine.
In July, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a list of 32 New Zealanders banned from entering the country. Among them was Howick Ward councillor Sharon Stewart.
At first bewildered, now Stewart believes the move was because she and her local community have assisted in delivering aid to Ukraine.
It started with a visit in March to her dentist, who happens to be from Ukraine. When Stewart heard firsthand about the plight of Ukrainians, it led to a local sewing group lending a hand and soon, a supply of knitted woollens was bound for Ukraine.
Bev Telfer, coordinator of the Highland Park sewing group, told 1News she was spurred on by Stewart's enthusiasm.
It started with making Ukrainian flags to sell at the Howick Market so locals could show support.
"We got thinking about how we could help otherwise, and that was to make baby clothes and it snowballed from there," Telfer said.
"Our group is about 25 - 30 people who meet every Thursday and they are all a bunch of ladies who have retired and want to help the community," Telfer said.
A bunch of keen knitters were then quick to get to work, as the local Facebook grapevine got word of the initiative.
The first container load was sent in early April, the second in July and the third is now two weeks away, bound by air for Poland.
Valeriy Boyko, a friend of Stewart, who works in procurement and logistics, is organising and following the shipment with his wife, Elena, where they will help unload the container and sort items for distribution in central and western Ukraine.
He acknowledged the resources donated by the community, including a Takapuna-based freight-forwarder, Oceanbridge Shipping.
"The owner, Bill Speedy and his team donated so much time and resource, they are really behind this initiative.
"We had the freight charges waived for the supplies sent from Auckland to Poland, as well as customs clearance charges on both sides," Boyko said.
He said he is very grateful to the East Auckland community for their support.
"If it were not for them, we would not have been able to gather all this aid."
Valeriy Boyko has been backed by many in the Auckland community. (Source: 1News)
"It will be several pallets of goods, humanitarian aid for kids - children of Ukraine and some medical supplies," he said.
He said a group of volunteers will collect the goods in western and central Ukraine where there are many displaced people.
Boyko and his wife plan to stay for about a week to help assist in consolidating the aid from New Zealand before it crosses the border.
"The central part of Ukraine has become a refugee area now because a lot of military action has happened in the south and west and those displaced people have gone into the central part of the country," he said.
When the war started, some of Boyko's family members and friends were forced to flee their homes in Kyiv. It was then Boyko and his wife started a Givealittle page which has raised over $30,000 for Ukrainians to date.
New Zealand has so far committed $8 million in humanitarian assistance to the Ukraine crisis.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.
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