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An Edinburgh charity boss has slammed “mindless” thieves who stole a van used to help traumatised Ukrainian orphans access medical appointments.
Steven Carr – the founder of Dnipro Kids, a charity which supports Ukrainian orphanage families who have fled war, said it is believed the van was taken some time between Saturday, September 27 and Monday evening, September 29, from Edinburgh Road in the capital.
Police Scotland has confirmed they received a report of a stolen vehicle from Edinburgh Road and are probing the incident with enquiries at an early stage.
Steven, who is also a councillor for Strathallan, Perth and Kinross, said that it is only the kids that will miss out from the cruel act as they will no longer be able to help with school runs and visits to the dentist or doctors, reports the Record.
The 59-year-old said: “It was a mindless act with a huge impact to the work we do.
“Without the van we won’t be able to take the kids out on any excursions or school trips. We won’t be able to help with taking them to doctor or dentist appointments so it is the children who will miss out.”
Dnipro Kids was set up by fans of Hibernian FC when their club played a UEFA tie against FC Dnipro back in 2005, and Steven led a group of fans who took the time to visit a state-run orphanage.
Moved by what they saw, he set up the charity and has been going back to the city at least twice a year ever since, organising holidays, excursions, and Christmas and birthday events for children.
The work of the charity has only increased after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Kind-hearted volunteers take the children who have fled the brutal conflict in their homeland to the likes of birthday parties giving vital respite to the kids and families.
The thoughtless theft comes weeks before the charity celebrates its 20th anniversary this autumn, with a year of special events kicking off on October 10th at 7pm at Easter Road Stadium’s “Behind the Goals” Lounge with a special dinner.
He added: “It went missing that weekend just passed. It was still there on Saturday morning then when we went to collect it on the Monday it was gone.
“If we have to we will rent a van or use taxis which will come out of the charity funds so it will have a financial impact too.
“We have lost a really good addition to the charity that has been of great benefit to us over the past three years for school runs, doctors appointments, excursions, day trips and a wider support for displaced Ukrainians through other support organisations such as the Association of Ukrainians.
“It’s also put a bit of a dampener on our 20th anniversary dinner at Easter Road this Friday.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 7.10pm on Monday, 29 September, we received a report of the theft of a van from Edinburgh Road in Edinburgh. Enquiries are ongoing.”
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