La Seu d'Urgell Resident Joins 42nd Aid Convoy to Ukraine

Pere Mentruit, a resident of La Seu d'Urgell, has returned from Ukraine after joining the 42nd convoy of the Caravana de la Bondat, an aid initiative led by Argentine nun Sor Lucía Caram.

Mentruit described the journey as physically and emotionally demanding but one he would repeat without hesitation. "Even if it was just a grain of sand, many grains make a beach," he said, emphasising that beyond delivering supplies, the mission aimed to demonstrate solidarity to those pleading not to be forgotten or abandoned.

The convoy, comprising 21 vehicles including 15 ambulances, departed symbolically from the base of Barcelona's Sagrada Família on the day its tallest tower, the Torre de Jesús, was crowned. Cardinal Joan Josep Omella led a mass and blessed the vehicles before they headed north, escorted by Mossos d'Esquadra in Catalonia and gendarmes in France. The group passed through Germany and reached the Polish border with Ukraine.

Aboard were medicines, cooking oil, generators—vital amid frequent Russian strikes on power plants—and numerous sleeping bags. One ambulance was sponsored by La Seu d'Urgell town hall, covering transport costs. Deliveries occurred at a secure location near the border to minimise risks, though Mentruit noted limited penetration into Ukrainian territory for safety.

The group had little direct contact with civilians, but Mentruit spoke briefly with two young men summoned to the front lines. "It breaks your heart to see such young people heading to war zones," he said. He was also struck by the faces of those encountered en route, marked by profound sadness amid years of hardship: deaths, injuries, destroyed homes, freezing winters without power or heat.

Mentruit, long involved in solidarity efforts from local councils to Barcelona football supporters' groups, knows Caram well. When Russia invaded five years ago, she committed to action, organising 42 humanitarian corridors to evacuate refugees, the sick and wounded. Recently in La Seu d'Urgell to present her documentary *Ucraïna, resistència i esperança*, she invited him along. After consulting his supportive family, he joined.

"No fear, not at all," he said of potential dangers, though Caram herself proceeded toward the Odessa front. Mentruit stressed the urgency of raising awareness: "This war is right in the middle of Europe, next door to us, yet it feels like no one talks about it anymore."