A CURATE in Ely diocese is recycling old candles and shipping them by the ton-and-a-half to Ukraine, where 40 per cent of the ability supply has been damaged for the reason that Russian invasion.
The response to his “Candles for Ukraine” project had been very generous, the Revd Will Lyon Tupman, an Assistant Curate within the St Neots Team Ministry, said. He has been working with the Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership, which melts candles right down to create latest ones, and had appealed to churches and clerics for supplies.
Noticing a full box of used candles in his own church’s vestry had been the “light-bulb moment”, he said. “It’s a win-win for the Church, especially. We may help Ukraine, have a spring-clean of our own vestries, and help the environment by manufacturing these candles for further use — all at the identical time.”
His weekly collection has yielded 1000’s of used candles from village churches within the Cambridge and St Neots areas, Bedfordshire, and Saffron Walden. When his automotive boot is full, he delivers them to the president of the Sandy Rotary Club, Dudley Smith, who takes them to Swindon.
“It’s a really practical way of doing something,” Fr Lyon Tupman said. “Any latest candles donated are shipped by truck and distributed by charities to homes and other places in Ukraine. Candle stumps and broken candles or loose wax are melted down and remanufactured into latest candles. These are often known as ‘trench candles’ and sent to soldiers on the front line.”
It had been heart-warming, he said, to listen to how the people of Ukraine had been helped by the donations, and to know that the community in Ely diocese and surrounding areas was making a difference. “I believe persons are very keen to support Ukraine of their time of need — but I believe it could sometimes be hard to consider what we will practically do to assist one other country where we live.
“This is a really practical way through which people can do something, and I’m so moved at people’s generosity in supporting the scheme.”
Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership was arrange in February 2022. The trench candles are a heat source in a rustic where winter temperatures can fall to -30°.
“The infrastructure in Ukraine is under immense pressure,” the charity said. “Huge areas of the country are commonly without electricity. Just imagine attempting to survive in freezing temperatures, perhaps with young children or older relations — hearing missiles obliterating nearby houses.
“This is the fact in much of Eastern Ukraine, and we may help make a difference and further support our Ukrainian friends.”
