TX-WY Mission for Ukraine Refugees
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2023 SUMMARY REPORT
Dear Friends,
Your TX-WY Mission for Ukrainian Refugees closed out 2023 with a number of accomplishments. Once more, we cannot thank you enough for all your support, in so many ways. Because of your donations, together we are able to continue to support the victims of this terrible conflict in Ukraine. And, we look forward to continuing our efforts in 2024. We are making a difference in people’s lives. We hope you will remain with us on this journey. Our work - and humanitarian aid in general – will become even more critical in the New Year.
Below are highlights from your Mission’s work in 2023:
- Bought and transported more than 40 pallets of non-perishable food and other supplies to Lviv, Ukraine. All this was re-packaged and delivered to needy civilians in Ukrainian towns and villages.
- Manufactured and transported to Ukraine more than 7,000 pouches of cooked, ready to eat meals (each sufficient to feed two people).
- Supported David Craig in his efforts to deliver countless tons of donated food, pet food, supplies, medical equipment, dental equipment, tools, clothing, blankets, Christmas gifts and treats and other materials to recaptured towns and villages and other locations in Ukraine; and
- Paid for three 18-wheelers to transport donated supplies from Denmark to David’s warehouse on the Polish-Ukraine border;
- Provided the warehouse/home for our Mission’s and David’s use;
- Purchased two more vehicles for transporting supplies etc. (In addition to the vehicles we purchased in 2022);
- Bought a city bus for use by a school or a Ukrainian NGO; and
- Provided the fuel purchased for all of David’s vehicle transportation.
On top of that, your support has allowed us to accomplish the following:
- Developed and continued to support two art therapy programs in Warsaw. Art therapy is being taught by two Ukrainian refugee women at these and other locations in Warsaw: the Modalinska Refugee Center (now home to about 100 Ukrainian refugee children), the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews, “LoveDoes” Ukrainian school and the Hines Corp.’s WOLA Center. Each week, the teachers are touching over 100 Ukrainian refugee women and youth. We pay the two women a monthly stipend and reimburse them for all the supplies. We have also sponsored art exhibitions of the “students” art in Warsaw.
- Introduced Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) to Happy Kids, the Polish NGO now caring for more than 1500 Ukrainian orphans scattered around Poland; with the goal of building on Happy Kids’ strengths to increase its capabilities to manage the orphan crisis in Poland and prepare for improved orphan care in Ukraine.
- Traveled to Romania to see methodologies at BCM’s clinic and orphanage there. Met with staff who are now assisting with the up-training of Happy Kids.
- Hines Poland has verbally agreed to assist Happy Kids, by way of project management, on the renovation of a large building in Lodz, Poland, donated by the city to Happy Kids. When completed, this will be a central facility for all manner of treatments (e.g. psychosocial therapy) for both Polish and Ukrainian orphans.
- Traveled with TCH and BCM to the Lviv Emergency Hospital to foster discussions about possible partnerships in children’s care, medical training, and prosthetics, resulting in an MOU in July 2023.
- Arranged a program for and traveled with six medical professionals from TCH and BCM to Uzhhgorod, Ukraine to visit and meet with administrators and doctors at the Transcarpathian Regional Hospital. The PMR teams will proceed to bring doctors and staff to train the local staff in prosthetics and orthotics, aiming to be on the ground in late Q1 2024. Our group will continue to assist and intend to purchase a new generation of 3D printer to rapidly produce cost effective prosthetics at the Hospital in Uzhgorod.
- Traveled to Ostrava, Czechia with a BCM medical professional to see and enlist support of Invent Medical, a firm specializing in 3D printing of prosthetics. We hope this will bear fruit and the firm’s support of the BCM/TCH effort in Uzhhorod.
- Sponsored the travel and accommodations for two Polish frontline medics (one a surgeon) who are with a Polish NGO “In the Meantime” providing volunteer medics on the frontline. They traveled to Houston, Austin, New York, and Boston to raise money for their program.
In closing, we pray for peace in Ukraine and wish you a happy and healthy 2024.
AFTER 620 DAYS OF WAR, YOUR MISSION REMAINS FOCUSED ON THE “SECOND FRONT.”
Dear Friends, Family and Supporters,
Thanks to the support of so many of you, our Mission remains focused, and our humanitarian efforts continue on the Second Front, with non-military support for the innocent victims of the Russian invasion. As we described in the summer of 2022, in any war, the Second Front can be as important as the Front Line and those on the Second Front also suffer injury and death from collateral fire and bombing, disease and hunger. We have all seen hundreds of photos of the Ukrainian cities and towns completely destroyed in this invasion and the innocent victims.
First, a word about the current situation. It is hard to believe this war is still wreaking death and destruction after so many days and months. We do not see this as a “proxy war” with Russia. No, this is a battle to oust the totally unprovoked invasion by an utterly evil Russian regime. Ukraine has been independent from the USSR since 1991. As Timothy Snyder recently wrote in The NY Times, the war is not at a stalemate, in the fullest sense. Ukraine is making progress on the Black Sea - attacking the Russian Navy, resuming grain exports and destroying Russian assets behind Russian lines with longer range missiles. Yet, Ukraine must make progress and thus, must have US and global support. Ukraine’s sovereignty and the freedom of its people from invasion must be restored and its lawful territory returned. Ukraine is not a perfect democracy, but then our own glass house is not without cracks. Now, US politics threatens support for aid to Ukraine’s military and equally important, the socio-economic aid. A Russian victory - whatever that looks like - will have long term ramifications to the EU’s and our security for many years.
Frank and Bill H recently returned from nine days in Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. We drove over 2500kms (about 1600 miles) and witnessed and heard from those on the Second Front: hospital doctors and administrators in Ukraine, Polish medical volunteers, Polish humanitarians educating Ukrainians in Poland and building education centers in Ukraine, and more. Despite the ceaseless nightmare of horror, the Ukrainian resolve to restore their country and build anew remains strong. The Ukrainian hospitals we have visited in the last 12 months are not giving up and are building and training for the war and a future Ukraine. Our volunteer partner organizations in Poland are finding new ways to help Ukrainians in Poland and Ukraine. They are all looking at the long term with a post-war mentality. That said, donor fatigue continues to grow and some of our partner organizations anticipate reduction or elimination of humanitarian aid, beginning in 2024. Our travels included stops in Bialystok, Sokolka, Medyka, Krakow, Rzeszów and Warsaw in Poland; Michalovce in Slovakia; Uzhhorod in Ukraine; and Ostrava in the Czech Republic.
From our recent discussions with partners and others in Poland and Ukraine, our Mission will be involved with or support the following:
- BCM and TCH with the Transcarpathian Regional Clinical Hospital in Uzhhorod, Ukraine. We accompanied a team of six doctors and medical professionals from Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital to meet with doctors and administrators at the TRC Hospital in Uzhhorod, Ukraine. (About 1/3rd of Uzhhorod’s population are displaced Ukrainians). The team’s focus was on physical medicine and rehabilitation, including use of prosthetics and orthotics. Those in need include military and civilians injured by war and existing medical needs of the civilian population (e.g. cerebral palsy). We are optimistic that BCM and TCH will start training staff at the TRC Hospital early in the new year. Also, our Mission is looking at joining in this effort with the purchase of a 3-D printer to “print” prosthetic devices for legs amputated below the knee and other devices. The TRC hospital staff would be trained to 3-D scan the patient’s limbs, 3-D print the prosthetics, and fit the prosthetics. We also discussed with BCM and TCH the idea of a mobile rehab clinic and scanning facility using the city bus we purchased for David Craig in Przemysl, Poland. (See October 5th Update below). A mobile rehab facility in the Uzhhorod area would be hugely beneficial, because many amputees (and others) do not have prosthetics or orthotic care and are sitting or lying in homes in towns and villages in the area.
- Humanitarian Innovation Group (HIG) https://www.hig-global.org - Warsaw HIG was founded by those who started and managed the Global Expo / Modalinska Refugee Center in Warsaw from when the war began, with over 4500 Ukrainian women, children, and elderly men (3rd largest refugee center in the EU then). With approval of Ukrainian Ministry of Education, HIG has built two Innovation Learning Labs (ILL) in Ukraine and plans to build four more. These are for after- school activities for Ukrainian schoolchildren. Ukrainian schoolchildren have missed nearly four years of normal classroom education: online learning under Covid for two years and now the war. We heard of 8-year-olds who have not learned how to use scissors. The ILL’s are vital to engage children in an interactive learning environment and introduce them to skills not taught in a traditional classroom. Each ILL costs approximately US$70,000 to build out and equip. Volunteers staff the Lab. The first ILL in Ternopil, Ukraine had 23,000 student “visits” in the first eight months of 2023. Our Mission may assist with funding one of the ILLs. We suggested that an ILL be started in Uzhhorod as we can see a “hub” of Texas activity there with, hopefully, BCM and TCH presence as it is a safe place for volunteers to visit. HIG said they would consider an ILL there and said they could use a bus as a mobile ILL to travel around the rural areas near Uzhhorod (Carpathian Mountains). HIG was dumbfounded when we said we might have a city bus they could use. Our Mission will further explore how this bus might be retrofitted and used by HIG to bring innovative lab learning to Ukrainian children in rural areas.
- Art Therapy – Warsaw: We met with Lilia at the at the Polish Museum of Jewish History in Warsaw. As we have reported for nearly a year, Lillia teaches art therapy to young Ukraine refugee children, two days a week there. The Museum and our Mission are paying for her to provide these classes. And, our Mission buys all her supplies, including easels. We also met and agreed to hire another teacher, Ludmyla, a refugee from Mariupol, Ukraine. She plans to teach over 20 classes to children and adults between now and the end of March. In addition, Lilia holds classes two days a week in ground floor space in a building owned by Hines Poland. It is in an excellent location in the city center, with easy subway access. About 20 Ukrainian refugee adults attend Lilia’s batik silk painting classes at the Hines Poland building. We are grateful to Hines Poland’s support of this important art therapy work.
- Life Church Poland - Ukrainian Schools - Warsaw: Also, two days a week, Lilia teaches at a primary school at Modalinska refugee center and a secondary school in space provided by Life Church Poland. The school is funded by Love Does, a San Diego NGO. We met with the executive Director, Annmarie Vanpangendonck - who as many others have done - spoke highly of Lilia and the importance of her therapy classes for the Ukrainian youth. The Love Does school has about 60 primary school students at Modalinska and another 30 secondary school students at the Life Church facility. We visited both schools during school hours to see the kids at desks or tables and they were in English class when we were there. Both schools provide Ukrainian-based curriculum for children from families who cannot afford tuition for the Ukrainian schools in Warsaw, or feel discriminated by the Polish schools. Currently, the high school students buy their lunches each day at the corner 7-Eleven equivalent (i.e. chips, candy and hot dogs). Annmarie negotiated with a nearby Ukrainian restaurant to provide daily hot meals for all 30 kids. Our mission may help cover the cost of the hot meals at about US$3.50 per student. For some students, this may be the only hot meal they receive.
- Maternity Boxes: Annemarie of Life Church / Love Does also finds time to prepare and deliver about 100 “maternity boxes” each month to Ukrainian hospitals in need near the front line and in larger cities. She and her friends pack the boxes with clothing for the baby and mother, diapers, food and other essentials. They also include a Ukrainian Bible and a “Note from God.” Some of these mothers are now widows. Annemarie said they also spend time with the expectant mothers or those have just delivered babies. Each maternity box costs around $60.
- Happy Kids – Lodz: We met with one of the Co-CEOs of Happy Kids (Polish foundation for orphans) and reviewed the strategic plan for 2024. Happy Kids has made good progress in reforming its internal structure and in building capacity to handle the care of over 650 Ukrainian refugee orphans, as well as maintain care of the 150 Polish orphans in Happy Kids’ foster homes in and near Lodz. An important project we are watching is the renovation of the 17 thousand square-foot building in Lodz donated to Happy Kids by the city of Lodz. Hines Poland has agreed to help with project planning and management of the renovation project. This is an incredibly generous gift of time by Hines Poland and will be invaluable to Happy Kids’ ability to refurbish the building for use as a central psychotherapy and rehabilitation center. Again, thank you Hines Poland and the Hines organization.
- Ready to Eat Meals: In Solkoka, a small town in northeastern Poland on the border with Belarus, we met with Jerzy Lis at his hotel and restaurant. His family made the ready to eat meals that we shipped to Ukraine last winter; the pre-cooked and sealed meals of chicken, rice, chickpeas, lentils etc. Each food pouch feeds to people and are high in calories and protein and may be eaten cold or hot. The meals were delivered to areas close to the Front Line. Last year we purchased around 8000 meals. As of today, Jerzy is uncertain whether he can muster enough family or staff to prepare the meals. We also have the issue of delivering the meals to those needed in Ukraine, which before were delivered by our NGO partner, Palianytsia in Lviv. Jerzy will let us know soon if he can provide the ready to eat meals.
- Polish Medical Volunteers: We met with Damian Duda, who runs the Polish medical volunteer group he calls “In The Meantime.” Damian, who is Polish, has been volunteering as a medic on the front lines since 2014, when Russia invaded eastern Ukraine. (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-frontlines-polish-paramedic-tends-wounded-soldiers-2023-01-23/). Damian was recently awarded the highest Ukrainian civilian Medal of Honor by President Zelensky for his services as a medic. In The Meantime has about 25 volunteers and they rotate on the front lines for 30 days. These volunteer medics are in the line of fire right on the frontline rescuing wounded soldiers and facing unbelievable battlefield action. This was made clear by a frightening video from his GoPro while he was on the front near Bakhmut. Our Mission will provide some nonlethal medical support for this team of volunteers’ courageous efforts. This might include stretchers, tourniquets, IV’s operable in freezing conditions, or even an SUV for transport.
- David Craig – Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine: We met David Craig in Medyka, Poland on the border with Ukraine, where he lives at the barn and warehouse complex paid for by our Mission. A shipment of various goods and equipment had recently left Medyka for Ukraine, yet the barns were pretty full. David is still receiving all kinds of food, equipment and supplies from Denmark and other countries in the EU. With winter approaching, several hundred wool blankets donated by Denmark remained from last winter and these will be shipped to Ukraine in the next couple of weeks. As always, one of the barns was full of dog food and other pet supplies and food. The Denmark connection (the “two Charlottes”) was due to send another 18-wheeler full of donations in the next week to David. After a day in Medyka, we drove David to Krakow to fly to the US, which will be his first time back home since the war began.
The needs for humanitarian work and aid in Ukraine has not dissipated. Once again in this war, winter is coming and the need for clothing, among other things, will resume. Cities, towns and villages continue to suffer from bombing and must have food and other essentials. Our Mission remains committed and with your continued support we will be able to deliver aid as and where needed, expand art therapy, support the building of the Innovation Learning Labs and - hopefully - contribute to a physical medicine and rehabilitation operation in Uzhhorod.
We thank very much for your support, without which we would not be able to continue your Mission.
APRIL 2023 – One Year Mission Milestone. The Work Continues
Dear Family, Friends and Supporters,
We write on this first anniversary of the launch of “our” TX-WY Mission for Ukrainian Refugees to recall our efforts due to your support and kindly ask that you consider a further donation. What began as a single trip to alleviate suffering of Ukrainian women and children flooding into Poland became, thanks to your unanticipated and overwhelming support, a mission that is now in its second year.
General William Tecumseh Sherman once told a group of cadets “War is Hell” and if you follow media covering the Russian invasion, you will agree. The brutal war on and near the front lines continues, death and suffering are never ending and the destruction of property is immense. As we wrote before, our Mission is engaged on the Second Front: supporting the men, women and children who suffer as collateral damage and yet are vital to maintaining morale in Ukraine. The need for humanitarian aid remains critical and donor support across the landscape is waning.
At this one-year milestone, we celebrate your generous and humbling support, allowing our Mission on the Second Front to accomplish so much - relative to our size. During this past year we:
- Bought and transported more than 80 pallets of non-perishable food and other supplies, which was packaged and delivered to needy civilians in Ukrainian towns and villages;
- Manufactured and transported to Ukraine more than 7,000 pouches of ready to eat meals (each sufficient to feed two people);
- Supported David Craig in his efforts to deliver countless tons of food, pet food, supplies, medical equipment, tools, clothing and other materials to badly damaged towns and villages in Ukraine, through our purchase of five vehicles and provision of a warehouse/home facility on the Polish- Ukraine border;
- Developed and continued to support the art therapy program for Ukrainian youth at the Modalinska refugee center in Warsaw (home to more than 400 Ukrainian refugee children) and at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews;
- Provided van loads of food, water, candy, office equipment, supplies, audiovisual equipment, musical equipment, art supplies, computers, phones, training and basic essentials to several NGO’s managing orphanages, youth centers, refugee centers, and the aid centers at the two main Polish train stations and bus station;
- Introduced Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) to Happy Kids, the Polish NGO now caring for more than 2000 Ukrainian orphans scattered around Poland with the goal of building on Happy Kids’ strengths to increase its capabilities to manage the orphan crisis in Poland and prepare for improved orphan care in Ukraine;
- Introduced TCH and BCM to the Lviv Emergency Hospital to foster discussions about possible partnerships in children’s care, medical training and prosthetics; and
- We are assisting a US NGO, Sunflower Network, to find support for building a children’s wing to the main hospital in Brody, Ukraine (between Kyiv and Lviv).
In addition, we are in discussions with a US-based property developer in Poland regarding assisting Happy Kids as an advisor on the renovation of buildings in Poland, which will provide homes and other facilities (e.g. psychosocial therapy) for Ukrainian orphans. Further, we are also in discussions with a US-based storage company in Poland regarding refrigerated shipment of our ready to eat meals to Ukraine and other potential joint efforts.
Assessing where we are today, currently, we have approximately $58,000 in our bank account. Going forward, we will spend your donations on the following:
- Continue to ship bulk food into Ukraine (approx. $1,000 per pallet)
- Continue to manufacture and ship ready to eat meals into Ukraine ($4 per 2-person pouch);
- Continue to support David Craig in his storage and delivery of supplies to Ukraine ($850/month for the warehouse facility, plus $3,000 per month for vehicle fuel); and
- Continue to support of the art therapy program at Modalinska and the Museum of the History of Polish Jews ($800 per month stipend for Lilliana the artist, plus $100 per month for supplies and equipment).
We will also continue to be involved as a convener or assist in some way with the following:
- Advice and assistance to Happy Kids and TCH as they work to strengthen Happy Kids;
- Assist Happy Kids to find financial and other support to rebuild or renovate housing and other facilities for the more than 2000 Ukrainian orphans in Poland;
- Assist TCH and BCM as they explore other opportunities in Poland and Ukraine; and
- Advise and assist sunflowernetwork.io in building a new children’s wing to the hospital in Brody, Ukraine.
We remain committed to our Mission. We are a non-organization and thus 99% of your donations go directly to the people in need.
Donations to our Mission can be made on our GoFundMe page at https://gofund.me/f9400872 or to St John’s Episcopal Church – Jackson Hole (with 501(c)(3) status) at https://www.stjohnsjackson.org or PO Box 1690, Jackson, WY 83001. Donating to St. John’s may be fully tax deductible (but confirm with your tax advisor). Please note “Ukraine” on a St. John’s donation.
For all those who have helped and followed us over the past year, we cannot thank you enough for your continued support, generosity and trust.
Slava Ukraine!
Bill, Rob, Bill, John, Frank and Karol
January 2023
When we started this mission last April no one could have imagined that this terrible war would last nearly a year, but as of today it seems to have no end in sight. Yet, the Ukrainian people, whether in Ukraine, Poland or elsewhere, remain resilient. And many of them are suffering under terrible conditions or have lost loved ones in this conflict. Nevertheless, for anyone who follows this war, it is clear that when peace comes it will only be on Ukraine’s terms, and not those demanded by the despotic Russian government. Moreover, it will take tremendous forbearance for Ukraine to sign any agreement with a country that has intentionally brought so much destruction, looting, death and bloodshed to a once peaceful country. Thus, our Mission continues and with your help, support and donations, we will continue to deliver food, supplies, equipment and expertise which, in small measure, impact the lives of so many women, men and children in Ukraine and Poland.
Through your generosity, we still have a balance of $119,000 remaining in our account. With these funds, we will continue to provide rapid, impactful and direct humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people. Over time we have narrowed our mission focus to four main pillars:
1. Delivering food into Ukraine. First, we will maintain delivery of bulk, palleted food to villages and towns in Ukraine selected by our Ukrainian NGO partner Palianytsia. Over the course of our mission we have delivered nearly 60 pallets of food to Ukraine, which are then down into individual family sized cartons and delivered by Palianytsia. We estimate that though our efforts we have fed thousands of people across Ukraine. Second, with the successful launch of the Polish-made ready to eat meal pouches this month, we aim to deliver about 2000 pouches twice a month to Palianytsia, which in turn will distribute them to towns and villages in need.
2. We will continue to provide support as needed to Texas Children’s Hospital (Houston), as they work with Happy Kids to increase their capabilities and assume more responsibilities for Ukrainian orphans, both in Poland and Ukraine. We will also assist Happy Kids in seeking funding for the refurbishment of or new facilities for Ukrainian orphans in western Ukraine and in Poland. In Poland alone, Happy Kids now has the responsibility for the care of approximately 2,500 Ukrainian orphans. Looking to the future, when the war ends, there will be a tremendous need for professional help to deal with the orphans’ trauma and stress, and the resulting alcohol or substance abuse.
3. Support ongoing art therapy at the Modilinska Refugee Center in Warsaw, which shelters approximately 400 children and teens, ages 1 to 17, plus 1,200 adults. We will also look for ways to expand this important part of trauma therapy and education for children and adults at Poland’s largest refugee center.
4. We will continue our support of David Craig’s superhuman success in transporting supplies, food, clothing, and equipment from Europe to where it is needed in Ukraine. As we have reported, David has developed relationships with groups in Europe that are donating dozens of pallets a week, which David and his team are delivering into the areas close to the frontline in Ukraine.
Our Mission will also remain open to meet needs of Ukrainian refugees that arise periodically in Warsaw, as we have done in the past.
As always, we are sincerely grateful for your support and friendships.
Slava Ukraine!
Winter ~ December 2022
We are all too aware of Russia’s use of missiles, bombs and drones with the diabolical intent to cripple vital infrastructure across Ukraine. We knew back in August that winter would be difficult for the Ukrainian populace; however, no one foresaw this strategy to freeze and demoralize the people. Now, beyond below-zero temperatures, which was expected, they have no or intermittent power and water. (One woman from Dnipro reported to David Craig last week that her life and those of her neighbors is now truly Armageddon. And, yet, for now, she and others keep their spirits up by humming or singing patriotic songs.) We assume and will soon confirm if these dire conditions will lead to more Ukrainian refugee migration west to Poland and other countries. We know the main refugee center in Warsaw was preparing in October for a renewed wave of refugees.
We continue to ship bulk food to Palianytsia, the Lviv-based NGO that repackages the food for the villages in need. Palianytsia is also shipping winter supplies, including small stoves, gloves, blankets and caps etc. We are investigating the preparation of fully-cooked meal packages that can be transported to needy areas. These would be made in Poland and we would buy and ship them to Palianytsia for onward distribution.
We remain in contact with Happy Kids and are exploring ways with Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston to assist them in finding or refurbishing more permanent homes for the 1500 Ukrainian orphans now under Happy Kids care in Poland. Happy Kids is also working to refurbish or locate homes in the western and safer parts of Ukraine for those Ukrainian orphans still in Ukraine.
We also continue to support David Craig in his deliveries of large amounts of medical equipment, food, clothing and pet food far into Ukraine.
This month we ended our planned three-month financial support and consulting for Flying Bag Hopefully, we will watch them take off for the next level as they continue to provide support to and a place for Ukrainian youth refugees in Warsaw. The Ukrainian youth are now in their second year of schooling in Poland and are in need of extracurricular activities. Flying Bag fills some of that need and, based on Flying Bag’s LinkedIn postings, it seems they are. The art and painting trauma therapy has been successful and our Mission may provide more materials and equipment for that important facet in helping Ukrainian youth. Lila, the artist may leave the Flying Bag and we may discuss supporting her program separately.
Finally, we will further explore ways in which friends might be able to volunteer by traveling to Poland to bring their hearts and hands to bear in helping the Ukrainian women and children refugees and Ukrainian orphans.
We thank you for your support. We are able to continue to assist as we can, thanks to your kind donations. This terrible conflict is not ending soon and in the medium term is only going to be much harder on the Ukrainian people.
Slava Ukraine!
Update: Winter is Coming.
Friends:
A few weeks ago, the war in Ukraine passed the six-month milestone. The news reports are full of stories and photographs of the destruction and desperation caused by the Russian forces in Ukraine. The warm summer months has allowed many of the Ukrainian refugees to return to their homes to gather some remnants of what remained of their lives. Many of them, however, will return to Poland and other countries as winter takes hold. It will be impossible to live in the partially destroyed homes and flats without heat or power, clean water, and the fruits and vegetables that were available in town and city gardens.
When we were in Poland and Ukraine in late July and early August, we were told countless times “winter is coming.” Humanitarian relief in both Ukraine and Poland will change, yet the extent is uncertain. We expect that the numbers of internally displaced Ukrainians and external refugees will increase in the coming months and more people will need housing and food than what is currently available. Further, Ukraine has retaken swaths of Ukraine, liberating thousands of its citizens.
These Ukrainians are now in need of significant humanitarian: medical, food and water. In addition, volunteers and donations have significantly decreased since the beginning of the war. For example, World Central Kitchen is closing most - if not all - of its kitchens and food services in Poland. In early August, we witnessed the closing of the WCK facility at the Warsaw railway station which was feeding 40,000 women and children per day during the height of the crisis. Palianytsia, the Lviv-based NGO we are working with to deliver food in Ukraine, is having periodic food shortages with ever decreasing deliveries from Poland. As such, we have some uncertainty as to our mission in the coming months.
Nevertheless, we remain agile and are adapting to the changing circumstances. We currently have approximately $110,000 in our collective account. With your support, our overall mission objectives remain the same, although we may have different need requests and deliverables.
Our mission objectives continue to be:
· Making food deliveries into Ukraine, now even more important
· Assisting the Flying Bag Youth organization in Warsaw
· Helping Ukrainian orphans in Poland
· Supporting the work of David Craig
· Closing gaps where help is needed in the form of supplies, food and clothing
Thank you very much for your financial support and overall encouragement of our mission. We remain focused on shepherding your gifts in the most impactful and direct way possible.
This war will not end anytime soon so we must be prepared, as best we can, to stay with and help those on this “second front“ of the conflict. As we heard on our first trip to Poland five months ago, this is not a sprint, we are in a marathon. The importance of assisting Ukrainians and their Polish supporters, as this tragic war continues, cannot be overstated.
Slava Ukraine!
Phase 3 (July 12, 2022)
It has been nearly a month since we last posted to this website; however, we have not had much to report, except that Frank Donnelly recently joined our team and we have received significant support from his friends and family. Also, we have been hearing from Karol Kras and Ron Slimp as they and others have traversed Ukraine and Poland and we will be better informed by them on our next steps in Poland. And, we have planned another trip to Poland. All this and more below. Thank you.
After Bill H. and John’s successful trip to Poland (June 5-12) and through the extraordinary generosity of your donations, the team will make another trip to Poland beginning on June 22. We are now joined by Frank Donnelly, another friend from Houston. Frank and Bill H. will be in Poland for about ten days. On this trip, we will start in Warsaw and then see where the needs lead us. Like the past two trips, we really don’t know the scope and depth of the needs until we get there. We plan to meet with Flying Bag in Warsaw. (If you recall, while in Warsaw in June, John and Bill H. met with Flying Bag, the Ukrainian-Polish youth organization that provides a safe gathering place, fun activities and just plain support-of-all kinds for young Ukrainian refugees). One item Frank and Bill will discuss with Flying Bag is their long-term plans for stability and growth. Thanks to you, we recently decided to assist them with a donation (US$7400) to keep them running for one month and we may assist them further, if we they can make definitive plans for more secure funding. Also, Frank and Bill H. will fulfill any current needs for Flying Bag from the local markets as John and Bill H. did last month. Karol Kras attended a meeting at Flying Bag two weeks ago and reported: (1) a former Polish government official said this was one of the best youth centers he had seen; (2) many Ukrainian psychotherapists are returning to Ukraine due to lack of employment in Poland – yet the need remains in Poland – and Flying Bag is seeking to raise money to keep at least some of the psychotherapists in Poland where they are still needed; and (3) donations continue to decline.
David Craig’s humanitarian work in Ukraine continues at a quick pace. He is relentless and remains in a constant Ukrainian cross-cross, transporting all manner of supplies and equipment. (See photos). David is still using the Sprinter van you purchased for him several weeks ago. David found a Ukrainian source for bulk oatmeal and is working with others to convert this into smaller bags for transport. Here is a link to a recent article in the Jackson paper about David and another Jackson volunteer.
https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/town_county/ukraine/in-wars-chaos-volunteers-from-jackson-favor-scrappy-approach/article_e2cb316b-652c-5d90-86ac-5a8994d742e8.html
Ron Slimp, a friend of Bill H., his daughter Sarah and a colleague, Eliza Erlich, have been in Poland and Ukraine for the last four weeks. (Ron has been working in Ukraine off and on since the early 2000’s). Much of their time has been spent in Ukraine going from Lviv to Kiev and to various places in southern and eastern Ukraine. In Lviv, Ron was able to meet with the leadership of Palianytsia, the Ukrainian NGO that received our two shipments of bulk food in May and June. (Palianytsia has many volunteers at the warehouse in Lviv who break down the pallets of bulk food and re-box them into five-day quantities. Next, they ship them by van to where they are required in Ukraine). Ron told ue their business systems, capabilities and warehouse were first-rate and thus confirmed what we thought: that the palleted food we purchased in Poland made it to the right place. Ron also reported that bulk food can be purchased in Ukraine, which obviates shipment from Poland and thus reduces the time to reach those in need and demands on diesel. Frank and Bill H. will meet with Ron in Warsaw to better understand how or if our group can improve on how we purchase bulk food for the people of Ukraine.
We will know more after we have been in Poland for a few days in late July about the best way to have the maximum impact with the significant funds you have donated. Our current focus remains on Ukrainian youth, food purchases for Ukraine and daily food and sundry supply needs of the refugee centers near the Ukraine border. We will also seek to learn more about the Ukrainian orphans now living in Poland and how our group can provide assistance. As always, we will pay our own way to and from Poland and while we are there; thus 100% of your donations go to benefit those in need. Once more, we cannot thank you enough for your support and interest in our mission. Everything we have done, and everything we plan on doing, would not be possible without your generosity. Slava Ukraine!
On to Phase 2 (5/12/2022):
Since we began this effort on April 13th, the Ukraine humanitarian crisis has not really changed much. Life grinds on for those who left their country, those remaining in Ukraine - some under unimaginable conditions - and the Polish people, who are opening their homes and supporting the cause in so many ways. The numbers are stupefying: more than 5.7 million have fled Ukraine, of those, 3.1 million are in Poland. Over 6.5 million have left their homes and are displaced in Ukraine (BBC reports). In total more than 12 million Ukrainian citizens have been forced to leave their homes. This widespread humanitarian crisis will not end soon for, as we wrote, we - all of us - are in a marathon.
Despite the US and EU efforts to improve conditions with shipments of food and medicines, this takes time and when we were in Poland we learned more food and medicine were desperately needed. The humanitarian support in Poland is largely an all-volunteer effort, which continues without the presence of the global NGO community. Also, the donations from thousands of individuals and companies in Europe have declined to a trickle, compared to the beginning of the war, as “compassion fatigue” sets in. Even though our efforts are small, they have immediate and meaningful impact. We are nimble enough to fulfill daily requests for small to large food and supply needs. For this we have witnessed much heartfelt gratitude. So we intend to make this an ongoing effort as long as we have the funding support.
As noted in our earlier Updates, our first trip to Poland was a success, both in determining what was needed the most and in learning how to deploy your funds with greatest impact. For us, it was a life-changing experience. We witnessed the goodness of people from all over the world giving their time and lending their hearts to those in need from Ukraine. Having made the reconnaissance trip, we know we can make a real difference. And we learned it is better to purchase what is needed in Poland, instead of shipping from the US. Everything we need is available in Poland and buying supplies there supports the local economy.
We see a Phase 2 of “our” mission. The problems and needs are immense. On our return to Poland in June, we are planning to purchase palleted food, provide daily supplies to refugee centers, and provide transportation. We will also explore assisting the Ukrainian school children now going to school in Poland. We can’t help them all of course, but perhaps we could identify individual schools which need resources to deal with the unanticipated influx of Ukrainian children. We also are aware of groups of Ukrainian orphans who fled Ukraine when the war began. Some of our resources could be deployed there. Finally, we are always looking at who or what may be “falling through the cracks.” After our next trip, we may need to go once a month as the humanitarian crisis evolves and your funds may be used in ways we have not yet considered. Also, several friends have said they wish to join us when we go later this summer. John Carey, a friend from Wyoming, has joined us in this effort and will go to Poland in June.
Our plan is to continue to solicit funds through this webpage. Once more, we cannot thank you enough for the financial and other support our mission received. You should know we pay our own travel costs to and from Poland and all our living expenses while there. Thus, all your donations are used in direct support of the Ukrainians suffering from this tragedy. We will continue to provide Updates to ensure you can be a part of our small mission to ease the suffering of the Ukrainian people in Poland and in Ukraine.
Phase 1 (4/12/2022):
As we all know, over seven million Ukrainians have been displaced by the war with Russia. Over two million have made their way to Poland. Having seen the incredibly distressing circumstances over the course of the war, we've decided to go to Poland and offer as much assistance to Ukrainian refugees as possible at the border and in Krakow. Although the Ukrainian people have pushed back Russian forces, the needs in Poland have not diminished.
Given that most Ukrainians are leaving their homes only with what they can carry, we hope to offer supplies and transportation to help people with their forced evacuations. Funds will help to purchase essential goods and supplies and help us provide transportation from the border to Krakow and beyond. Funds will primarily be used to purchase:
- Backpacks and duffle bags as many refugees are arriving in Poland carrying what they could grab in their arms
- Prepaid debit cards
-Transportation costs
-Any other supplies as requested when we arrive in Poland
Please consider supporting our efforts by donating to this page. We will do our best to use all funds while we are in Poland. We will be there ten days or longer, and any funds that we cannot use prior to leaving will be donated to World Central Kitchen and Polish Humanitarian Action.
Thank you for your support,
Bill Hayes, Bill Boss, Rob Hayes
(AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Fundraising team: Bill H, Bill B, John C & Rob H (5)
Robert Hayes
Organizer
Denver, CO
Bill Hayes
Team member
John Carey
Team member
Frank Donnelly
Team member
Willard Boss
Team member
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