Pizza is healthier than you might think. The tomato topping is rich in antioxidant lycopene, the crust contains resistant starch — a form of fibre which helps lower cholesterol, improve blood sugar metabolism and support healthy gut bacteria — while mozzarella cheese on it provides bone-building calcium.
And in Ukraine, a small British charity is serving up pizzas with another life-changing ingredient: hope.
The charity swung into action within days of the Russian invasion, providing food and comfort from a tent on the Polish border. It was a situation that many thought was hopeless. Putin expected to seize control within 10 days, and most commentators agreed he would succeed.
But they had underestimated the resilience of the people of Ukraine, and the power of hope. Now, as the world nervously waits to see what the Trump presidency will mean for the region, and the battle intensifies, the charity HopeFull continues to sustain the people of Ukraine.
It was founded by David Fox-Pitt, an extraordinary man who can only be described as a force of nature. He joined the Territorial Army, passed SAS training at the age of 36 (having previously failed to become a Para after flunking a weapons recognition test at the final hurdle), has ridden a penny farthing from Land’s End to John o’ Groats and helped raise £40million for good causes.
David is a man who puts the ‘do’ into ‘can do’, so his immediate response to Putin’s invasion was to call some like-minded friends and drive to the Polish-Ukrainian border with two vehicles laden with donated supplies and one of the pizza vans used by the outdoor events firm he founded.
“It wasn’t rocket science,” he says. “We just put the word out on Facebook, filled up the trucks and got out there.” Although his military training and years of logistical experience running WildFox Events obviously helped.
For six weeks, David lived in a tent on the border. “It was like Groundhog Day, scraping the porridge pots out every morning and doing it all over again.” It was so cold, the olive oil he used on the pizzas would freeze.
Since then, HopeFull has spent 972 days on the ground in Ukraine, clocking up more than 310,000 miles to visit more than 1,750 towns and villages. The charity has provided more than two million piping hot pizzas and of the 450-plus volunteers who have taken part in the operation, a third have returned.
As the HopeFull operation swings into action and the pizza ovens are fired up, Ukrainians displaced by the conflict slowly gather, and faces devoid of life or light begin to relax and soften into smiles.
Wearing a kilt made of yellow and blue Spirit of Ukraine tartan and a sporran adorned with horsehair, David urges the children to join his Pizza Masterclass and assemble pizzas amid horse- play and comedy neighs, and flurries of flour and Scottish dancing.
His enthusiasm is infectious and before long children who have very little laughter in their lives are beaming and chatting animatedly — probably about the crazy man from “Scotlandia”. For David, it is all about “positiverosity”, a word he coined to describe the combination of positivity and generosity which is at the heart of everything he does. Positiverosity underlines the importance of small acts of kindness, having faith in your ability to do something and avoiding excuses for inaction.
It’s also about feeling the fear and doing it anyway, because as he points out: “If it were easy, everyone would be living their dream.”
Studies show that these traits really can make a difference in the darkest of days. Researchers at King’s College London found that when people with diagnosed anxiety were asked to consciously focus on positive thoughts and images, there was a significant improvement in symptoms.
Giving money to charity, or friends, makes us feel good and brain scans confirm that generosity activates parts of the brain associated with happiness. The researchers who made this discovery concluded, “Generosity and happiness improve individual wellbeing and can facilitate societal success. However, in everyday life, people underestimate the link between generosity and happiness.” Maria, 84, is living proof of the power of positiverosity. She and her husband had a small-holding in the Donbas, which is now largely under Russian control.
Today she lives in a hospital-cum-care home outside Lviv, hundreds of miles away from her former home.
She speaks through an interpreter, and there are parts of her story she finds too distressing to retell. But she recounts how she was forced to hide in a basement for three months before she was rescued by Ukrainian soldiers.
Maria has lost her husband, her two sons, and most of her possessions. She doesn’t know what has become of her grandchildren, who were taken to Russia. But as she shows us the chilli plants she is cultivating and the preserved vegetables and fruits she has foraged or grown, it’s clear she has not lost hope.
There are hugs, and tears, as she insists we take sweets and a small plastic toy she found while looking for mushrooms in the woodland that surrounds the rehabilitation centre. It will take pride of place on our family Christmas tree. Like most Ukrainians, Maria is devoutly religious and studies confirm that having faith reduces the risk of suicide and many mental health problems including depression, anxiety, substance abuse and PTSD.
David agrees, and advises, “have faith in a higher being — The Universe, Nature, God, whatever you deem to be a higher being,” and explains, “to me, faith is the simple belief that good will prevail”. It’s not easy to hold on to this hope as the people of Ukraine face an uncertain future and another brutal winter. Overnight temperatures can plunge to -20°C and Russian drones and bombs continue to target the country’s struggling energy infrastructure.
There are also reports that Russian landmines and drones are now being designed to carry just enough explosive to inflict maximum injury but not death – because every wounded soldier puts ever more pressure on the country’s health system. David admits, “It’s very difficult some- times in Ukraine, but we must hold on to that hope. It’s so important to be positive.”
Many have witnessed horrors that can never be unseen. In the room next to Maria’s is a bear of a man called Aleksander who had been repatriated from a field hospital a few weeks earlier. He was one of only a handful of men to survive when they were attacked by a much larger group of Russians. He and four friends were being ferried away from the frontline when their vehicle was immobilised by an enemy drone and then hit with an incendiary device. He saw his best friend burnt alive and he sustained such severe burns to his back that when sleep comes, he has to lie on his stomach.
Aleksander’s right leg is badly damaged and he has lost his sight in one eye. The only reason he survived is there was so little room in the vehicle, he was in the boot when it was engulfed in flames. His body is slowly healing, but the psychological scars will take much longer. That’s why HopeFull is already looking beyond the boost that comfort food brings, and is working to provide rehabilitation and mental health support for the thou- sands of men and women who have suffered life-changing injuries.
■To learn more about HopeFull and support their work go to hopefull.org.uk
