Geeveston carpenter, Hamish Stirling, on three months spent in Ukraine, helping to rebuild homes

Amid the ominous sound of explosions and air raid sirens, Geeveston chippy Hamish Stirling spent three months in Ukraine last year helping war-torn communities rebuild.

Geeveston carpenter Hamish Stirling (right) with a local in Ukraine. Picture: Hamish Stirling

Geeveston carpenter Hamish Stirling spent three gruelling months helping communities in war-torn Ukraine rebuild their destroyed homes last year – and now he’s considering going back so he can continue to assist the resilient and grateful locals.

Mr Stirling, 36, was inspired to make the trip after reading a news story about Queensland builder, Manfred Hin, who volunteered in the Eastern European country for much of 2023, helping to rebuild more than 50 homes razed by Russian attacks.

“That basically gave me the idea and I just ran with it from there,” Mr Stirling said.

After learning some rudimentary Ukrainian, he hopped on a plane last June and divided his time between the capital, Kyiv, and Chernihiv, a city in the north of the country.

Geeveston carpenter Hamish Stirling (second from left) with locals in Ukraine. Picture: Supplied

Working with an organisation called Brave to Rebuild, Mr Stirling cleared rubble and helped to demolish partially destroyed houses in Kyiv, creating the conditions for rebuilding.

In Chernihiv, which is close to the Russian border, he assisted Phoenix Ukraine with their efforts to rebuild homes.

Mr Stirling said the damage he saw was “extensive” and the areas he worked in had been “very hard-hit at the beginning of the war”.

“[There were] a lot of burnt out and destroyed houses. You’d see a lot of damage to the roads where mortars and artillery had landed,” he said.

“You’d see a lot of bullet holes in roofs and walls and fences and things, burnt out cars, signs warning you of minefields – all that sort of thing.”

Work to rebuild a home in Ukraine. Picture: Hamish Stirling

While he felt “relatively safe” during his time in Ukraine, Mr Stirling said there was always a degree of risk because “the Russians are notorious for targeting civilian areas, just bombing cities and towns indiscriminately”.

“I did experience and see a few air strikes and see missiles shot down,” he said.

“You could hear explosions and see the trails of smoke in the sky and puffs of smoke where missiles were intercepted. Air raid alarms were a very common thing.

“But I didn’t feel unsafe just because I understood the chances of being caught out were relatively small.”

Geeveston carpenter Hamish Stirling in Ukraine. Picture: Supplied

Mr Stirling described the Ukrainian people as “extraordinary” and said that while they were dealing with a “huge amount of grief and trauma”, they were “incredibly resilient and they don’t lost their humanity”.

“They’re still very warm and friendly people, despite everything,” he said.

After he completes a 12-month contract working for the Australian Antarctic Division on Macquarie Island, Mr Stirling is considering returning to Ukraine to help the locals pick up the pieces of their disrupted lives.

“I was extremely happy that I made the trip. I don’t have any regrets about that at all,” he said.