Bread is Life

My experiences distributing bread to villagers in eastern Ukraine during the war.

Post #1

July 28, 2024

In exactly 12 hours, Alla and I will be boarding the bus to San Francisco International Airport to begin the first leg of our long journey to Ukraine. What are my thoughts and emotions as I begin what will surely be one of the most, if not the most, consequential and exciting trips of my lifetime?

This is not an ordinary humanitarian trip like the one I went to in northern Greece in 2016 to help Syrian refugees, or the one in 2019 to teach English to Yazidi refugees, or even the one to Poland in 2022 to transport Ukrainian women and children who were fleeing the war.

I am traveling to a country in the middle of a brutal and violent war. A war in which a missile or a bomb from a drone can strike anywhere in the country at any time. A war in which the electrical grid has been heavily damaged, and power is out for hours at a time in every city and village. A war in which air raid sirens go off for hours at a time, day or night, and people look for the nearest shelter.

So why am I leaving the comforts and safety of home to travel to a war-torn country to help bake and distribute bread to villagers in eastern Ukraine who are struggling to survive each day? Why not take the $13,100 I raised recently from over one hundred donors, and just send it to the International Humanitarian Hub to buy wheat to make the bread?

Because I know from my humanitarian work in refugee camps that something powerful and mysterious happens at the moment the giver and the receiver of aid connect with each other. When you are able to provide some degree of comfort to individuals who are at their most desperate time in their lives, you realize in a deep way that this is why we are put on this earth.

The bread that I will distribute in the coming days will not only alleviate some of the hunger but, more importantly, will be a message to the villagers that over one hundred Americans in Sonoma County and other parts of the country care about their survival and well-being. And that an old man, who chose to represent these Americans, traveled over 6,000 miles to tell them that they have not been forgotten by the world. What a powerful message! One that is impossible to convey by just sending money to an organization. That is why I am willing to risk the dangerous conditions that exists in Ukraine today.

So back to the question I asked at the beginning of this post– What are my thoughts and emotions as I begin what will surely be one of the most, if not the most, consequential and exciting trip of my lifetime?

I am nervous, excited, apprehensive, looking forward to meeting wonderful Ukrainians and seeing their beautiful country, and going with an open heart knowing that I will receive more than I can ever give.

Slava Ukraini!

This is how it all started…

In Aprll of 2022, shortly after Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, I went to Poland and Ukraine to help transport Ukrainian women and children from the border into Poland. After returning to the US, I sponsored two Ukrainian families to start new lives in Sonoma County and with the help of many friends, neighbors, and family members, we have helped to resettle and support over 35 Ukrainian refugees.

One of these Ukrainians is a grandmother (Alla) who has decided to return to Ukraine after two years. Because her English is limited and she would have difficulty navigating her way home, I offered to travel with her to Warsaw, Poland, and to get her on the train to her home city of Chernihiv. Since I would be near Ukraine, I decided to spend some time volunteering in some capacity to help Ukrainians in need and learned about a bread distribution program sponsored by Type of Wood Charities, a nonprofit organization that I volunteered with in Poland in 2022.

Type of Wood Charities organizes the baking and distribution of 40,000+ loaves of bread to villagers in eastern Ukraine near the front lines of the war who are struggling to survive during the war. When I learned that $6,000 would buy 22 tons (44,000 pounds) of wheat, I decided to raise that amount before leaving for Ukraine. Thanks to the outpouring of support, I was able to raise $13,000, which will buy 95,000 pounds of wheat!

Alla and I leave for Ukraine on July 29, 2024. She is excited to return to her home country. I leave with a mixture of anticipation, curiosity about life in a war-torn country, concerns for my safety, and looking forward to participating in the baking and distribution of bread. An added benefit of the trip will be an opportunity to meet the families and friends of the Ukrainians I have sponsored in the US and to share first hand how their loved ones are thriving in the US!

The Calm Before the Storm

Post #2

August 1, 2024

One of my goals for the trip was to deliver Alla safely home to her town of Chernihiv. Mission accomplished! I made arrangements for her to catch a bus from Warsaw to Kyiv, where some friends met her and accompanied her to her apartment.

I caught an overnight train from Warsaw to Lviv, a journey of about eight hours. In my small train car with 24 seats, I was the only male passenger. Grandmothers, mothers, children and infants were all crowded in the car, no one able to sleep. It occurred to me that most of these females were probably the ones who left Ukraine when the war started in 2022 and were now returning for their first time. No wonder they couldn’t sleep.

I myself was anxious and wondered how I would react once I stepped foot into Ukraine. My anxiety increased when I saw my first soldier at the border control station. I knew I was now entering a war-torn country.

The following video is of the first moment when our train crossed the border into Ukraine. I needn’t have worried. It looked like one of many peaceful villages you find in all parts of Europe.

When we arrived at the Lviv train station, I remembered the horrible missile attack on a train station in Ukraine that killed over 60 people and wounded over 150. I hurried along, wanting to get out of the station as quickly as possible, knowing that the Russians target facilities like train stations, shopping centers and hospitals that house large numbers of people. Seeing numerous signs pointing the way to bomb shelters didn’t ease my nervousness.

While driving through the city in my rental car to my hotel on the outskirts of town (I had selected a hotel far away from the city center, where the Russians typically bomb buildings to inflict the greatest casualties) on a beautiful summer day, I noticed something surprising. Lviv looked like any other city you might find in France, Spain, or Italy. There is no way you would ever imagine that Ukraine was in the midst of a punishing war. People were shopping, eating in cafes, waiting for the bus and streetcars, sightseeing, and doing what everyone does in cities all around the world. Researching the internet, I learned that after suffering frightening missile strikes at the outset of the war, the last missile that hit Lviv was in February of this year. I was able to finally relax and enjoy myself as a tourist during my last day in Lviv.

Nevertheless, one is still reminded of the war in other ways. This photo shows how sand bags are placed against basement windows to protect sheltering people from flying glass.

Soldiers who have been killed in the war are honored in plazas throughout the city.

Today I drove from Lviv to Rivne, a halfway point between the two cities. The following photos show life in Ukraine today. An old woman and her cow walking along the side of a street as Ukrainians have done so for countless generations. A town where old people were selling fruits and vegetables by the road in front of their homes. There were over 15 stands that were placed every 20-30 yards. I bought some corn on the cob from a very simple stand and some blackberries from an elaborate one. Along the way were remembrances of wars in Ukraine.

I finally made it to my hotel in Rivne, tired and hungry. What should I find right next to the hotel . . . . . Sushi and stir fried noodles!

Tomorrow begins the next chapter in this journey, the main reason I came to Ukraine. I will be in Kyiv to volunteer at a bakery. Then it’s off to the areas around Chernihiv to distribute the bread the following day. I am quite aware that from this point forward the dangers of missile and drone strikes increase. However, I was told that my guides will not take me anyplace that is dangerous to me or them, and I have to trust their judgement.

KYIV AND IRPIN

Post # 3

August 2, 2024

On my 4-hour drive from Rivne to Kyiv, I saw some amazing sights.

The first was a field of sunflowers, Ukraine’s national flower. This field stretched for miles, as far as my eyes could see. Since the invasion by Russia, the sunflower has emerged as a “global symbol of resistance, unity and hope.” On the first day of the invasion, a Ukrainian woman gave sunflower seeds to Russian soldiers. She said, “Take these seeds so sunflowers grow here when you die.”

I wrote yesterday about how women in one village sold fruits and vegetables in small stands right by the road in front of their homes. Today I saw an incredible sight on a major freeway. A woman set up a stand a mere few feet away from speeding cars to sell containers of vegetables. Imagine if you will, a stand on the side of Highway 101 in Santa Rosa. She told me about her three sons who live in Seattle and Washington, DC as I bought a jar of pickled mushrooms that I will give to Alla tomorrow.

About one hour away from Kyiv, the siren on my Air Alert app went off and warned citizens in the cities of Lviv, Rivne, Kyiv, and Chernihiv, to seek shelter immediately. These are four of the major cities that are on my itinerary, so I was understandably a little concerned.  I had earlier asked the rental car company agent what I should do if the siren went off while I was driving. She said most Ukrainians ignore the instructions and continue driving, thinking that since no one knows where the missiles will hit, you might as well keep driving. The alert ended about 30 minutes later.

Повітряна тривога

Upon arriving in Kyiv, I met Lubov, the owner of Victory Bakery in Kyiv, When the war began, her bakery started to make bread and distribute it to residents of Kyiv. Eventually, because the need was so great in other parts of the county, it has now become a 24/7 operation. She said that they baked 40,000 loaves of bread in July and estimates that they have distributed 1,800,000 loaves of bread since the war started. Because of the constant air alerts that forced them to suspend operations while going to the basement of their bakery, she decided to lease a basement where they can continue to operate around the clock, even during an air alert. A generous stranger donated a generator so that electrical blackouts don’t stop operations. Much of the bread is shipped by a postal service, where volunteers at the destination cities pick up the bread and distribute them to villagers near the front lines of the war.

One of the most gratifying parts of seeing what happens to donations is shown in the first photo of the bags of flour. Thanks to many of you who donated to the Bread is Life project, we were able to help the International Humanitarian Hub purchase approximately 95,000 pounds of flour from wheat. The Hub, in turn, gives the flour to bakeries like Lubov’s Victory Bakery. I stood in the room, very pleased that I could report that your donations made it to actual bakeries.

I was very fortunate to put on an apron and a hair net and get involved in the process of making bread from start to finish. The following photos and videos show me kneading the dough into loaves, placing the dough into the containers, dusting the tops of the bread with flour to form the word “Victory,” placing the loaves into the ovens, and, finally, taking the bread out of the ovens. Tomorrow, Lubov’s husband, Sergey, and I are taking 500 loaves of bread to Chernihiv and a small village outside of the city to distribute to the people. I have been asked to speak to the recipients of the bread.

The flour you donated

Success!

Some of the bakers who work 24/7 to produce thousands of loaves of bread a day

After baking the bread, Sergey took me to Irpin, the site of one of the most important battles in the war. Russia’s objective was to capture Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, thereby controlling the rest of the country. Irpin is about 12 miles north of Kyiv, separated by the Irpin River. In a strategic move, the Ukrainians destroyed the main bridge, thereby making it very difficult for the Russians to enter Kyiv. After many fierce battles, the Ukrainian soldiers were able to repel the Russians and force them to retreat ultimately back the Russia. Approximately 70% of Irpin was destroyed in the battles.

The destroyed bridge remains as a reminder of the battles that saved the country,

The same bridge in March 2022 as the residents attempted to flee the city. They took shelter under the bridge from Russian aerial attacks. (AP: Emilio Morenatti)

Not far from the bridge is another memorial—an automotive graveyard that consists of hundreds of vehicles found in the towns of Bucha and Irpin, near Kyiv. People who were attempting to save their children and their own lives tried to escape from the occupied towns and were executed by the Russian aggressors. They perished in their own vehicles.

An empty Pepsi bottle survives the destruction of the car and the death of its inhabitants.

I returned to Kyiv in a sober mood, reflecting on the horrors of war and the suffering of innocent civilians. However, I’ve learned so far on this trip that I can’t afford to dwell on the shocking images and stories. If I do, I will become immobilized and unable to help others cope with their suffering.

So I turned my mind toward the anticipation of tomorrow’s activities. In addition to the distribution of the bread in Chernihiv that I helped make today, I am looking foreward to meeting Iryna’s mother, father and brother; Ira and Vitalii’s mothers; and Ira’s brother at Alla’s apartment for dinner. I am excited to share with them how our two Ukrainian families are thriving, especially the children!

LOTS OF EMOTIONS, LOTS OF TEARS

Post #4

August 3, 2024

As I write this post, I am emotionally exhausted and drained. Three major events occurred today. Any one of them would be enough for a person to spend a day processing one’s emotions. To share all three will be a challenge that I’m not sure I’m up to, but I will try.

Alla Makes It Home to Chernihiv (Not one of the three major events)

As I was driving the two- and one-half hours from Kyiv to Chernihiv, I was thinking about what Alla must have been feeling as her bus crossed the border to Kyiv. A huge weight must have fallen off her shoulders as she could read the billboards and signs on the road, talk to the bus driver and other passengers with ease, and recognize all the stores and landmarks. What a relief to once again be in control of her life.

Imagine, if you will, what it must have been like for a 61 year old grandmother who lived in Chernihiv all her life to suddenly be dropped down in a foreign country where she couldn’t speak the language, didn’t know how to travel independently, and was totally dependent on others for everything. While she was grateful for all the support she received the past two years, her heart was always in Ukraine.

When I met her today for dinner at her apartment, I asked her if she was happy. A huge smile broke out and she exclaimed loudly, “Very happy, very happy.” I knew that being home was a huge emotional experience in her life. And for that, I was also happy for her.

As I said goodbye to her today, I told her that once the war ended, Dianne and I would visit her in Chernihiv someday.

Distribution of Bread

The final step in the Bread is Life process occurred today when Sergey and I took about 300 loaves of bread that I had helped to make yesterday to Chernihiv. When we arrived at a church parking lot, there were already 200-300 mostly elderly people waiting in line. I was asked to speak to the group. Not being one to turn down an opportunity to speak, I shared with them my experiences in Poland and Ukraine, sponsoring and/or supporting two families from their hometown of Chernihiv, and returning to Ukraine to help bake and distribute bread to those near the front lines in eastern Ukraine. I told them that the bread will help to address their hunger, but more importantly, the bread tells them that Americans 6,000 miles away have not forgotten them and their struggles. I could tell from the nodding of heads and smiles on their faces that they appreciated the message.

As I helped distribute the bread, every single one thanked me, some with tears in their eyes, some who hugged me or held my hand. It was a very moving experience that I will never forget. It reinforced my decision to participate in the Bread is Life project. Remember in my first post how I described the mysterious connection that occurs between the giver and the receiver. I experienced that connection repeatedly today. The following video clip shows some of the large crowd waiting for their bread.

A hug and thanks make it all worthwhile!

Face to Face with an Unspeakable Horror of War

Ilia, the leader of the group that organized the bread distribution, and my translator, Alina, asked if I wanted to go to the small village of Yahidne. Not knowing exactly why I was asked this question, I said, “Sure.” What I experienced in the basement of a school in Yahidne I will never forget. I’ve been to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. I’ve been to the Dachau concentration camp. Neither one remotely compares to the horrors of war that I witnessed and experienced.

In March of 2022 as the Russian soldiers advanced towards Kyiv, about 350 residents of Yahidne, including 77 children, were marched from their homes at gunpoint and forced into a cramped school basement. They spent 28 days in a dark and dank basement, all preparing for their own deaths. At least 17 people died in that basement.

The school custodian, Ivan, gave us a private tour of the basement and spoke from experience as he and his two sons and four grandchildren were held captive in that basement.

Ivan showed us one of the small rooms that was packed with adults and children. There was no room for anyone to lie down; people had to sleep sitting up and could only stand up for exercise. Note the toys left behind by the children.

Because a leak from the water pipes above was affecting those who sat directly underneath, someone used some cardboard, wire and a Russian mess kit box to divert the water into the box.

Another small room. Imagine this space crammed with people with no room to lie down (for one month).

Because it was always dark in the basement, they had to somehow keep track of the days as they had difficulty distinguishing night from day and the passage of time.

Because this was basement of a school, there were probably some paints and colored pencils available for the children to use.

Ivan said that these were the chairs that he and some of his family sat on all day and night for one month. They could only stand to get some exercise.

Plastic cups like these were filled two thirds of the way to the top with some type of food and shared by two people per day.

Buckets like this one were used as toilets.

The names of villagers who were killed by the Russians.

The names of villagers who died in the basement, mostly elderly people.

This is the largest room in the basement as it was left by the villagers when they were liberated by Ukrainian soldiers. The following photo of the same room was taken by a New York Times photographer just before the villagers were liberated .

Right after this photo was taken, I broke down and cried, thinking of how the villagers, especially the elderly, the children and infants suffered during those 28 days.

As I walked through this dark, stifling basement, I could not imagine over 350 men, women and children crammed into this space for 28 days. Ivan told me that the first to die were the old people. Others went mad. Children suffocated and lost consciousness. Women pleaded with the Russians for medicine for their sick children, but the soldiers ignored their pleadings. There was little oxygen in the rooms, and everyone had trouble breathing. The Russians would not allow the dead bodies to be moved for several days. When they did, some of the men were allowed to dig shallow graves. While placing the bodies in the graves, a group of Russian soldiers shot and killed some of the men and injured others.

I will never forget standing in the basement in a state of shock at what took place in that space just two and a half years ago.

I thought I was done crying for the day, but more was yet to come.

Tears of Happiness and Tears of Sadness

One of the highlights of my trip was the opportunity to meet Iryna’s mother, father, and brother, and Ira’s mother and Vitalii’s mother and Ira’s brother in Chernihiv. Alla had organized a dinner of delicious Ukrainian food. As soon as they entered the apartment, they all broke down crying and started hugging me and thanking me for taking care of their loved ones.

The women had prepared a veritable feast of delicious Ukrainian food..

Iryna’s brother wrote out a speech in English welcoming me to Ukraine and expressing his appreciation for what I had done for Iryna and Ira’s families. I responded to his speech by telling them how much Dianne and I loved their families and how we would always take care of them, especially the children. More crying by everyone followed these remarks, including by Iryna’s father. They told me that they knew the children would be protected and looked after by Dianne and me. They said that they knew the children would receive greater opportunities in America, and that it was the right decision to remain there. However, they said that while they were happy for the children, they missed them terribly. More crying ensued. Later, Iryna’s father proudly showed me a photo of Myroslava as a little girl that he had set as the wallpaper for his phone.

Then it was time to exchange gifts. I had brought a large bag filled with gifts from the Hubars and Iryna’s family. After distributing them, I showed them the empty bag and said how it will be much easier to travel back to the US with one less bag to carry. But, oh no, I wasn’t going to let off the hook so easily. They brought out their gifts and soon the bag was filled to the brim and heavier than before.

Many thanks to Kira for asking her best friend, Lata, to interpret for us. Her English is impeccable, and her interpreting skills are beyond belief. At one point, she was simultaneously translating the conversation without missing a beat. She has a bright future in interpreting, if that’s what she wants to do.

As we said our goodbyes, there were more tears and hugs.

I haven’t cried this much since the Warriors lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in game seven of the NBA Championship series in 2016.

CHYHYRYN

August 4, 2024

Post #5

Yesterday was essentially a travel day from Chernihiv to Chyhyryn, a 6-hour journey. After the previous day’s emotionally draining experiences, I was ready for a relaxing ride during which I could take a deep breath and process everything that occurred. Before I tell you what happened when my GPS took me on side roads instead of the main highways, I need to share a very pleasant experience.

About halfway between Chernihiv and Kyiv, I noticed a family of three hitchhiking on the side of the highway. I sped past them and drove a mile or so before I turned around and made a U-turn. On Ukrainian highways, there are designated spots in the fast lane where you can get in a left turn lane and make a U-turn. Exit ramps leading to overpasses are non-existent, so these U-turn lanes are great. There are also pedestrian lanes where people can cross highways as cars speed by at 100 km/hour!

I picked up a mother, Ludmilla, a teenage daughter, Nastia, and a young boy, Misha. They were on their way to a Kyiv Metro station. They didn’t speak English and as it was difficult to use Google Translate while driving, we drove in silence. I was very pleased to give them a ride as it vividly reminded me of my experiences driving Ukrainian families from the border into Poland in 2022. That’s how I met Iryna and her family. As we reached the metro stop, Ludmilla handed me a handful of bills. I refused to accept them. She insisted that I take them. I refused again. Back and forth we went for what seemed like eternity. Somehow, I got across the message that she could keep her money if they would allow a photo of them and me. She readily agreed.

Back to the relaxing ride on the side roads to Chyhyryn—

Shortly after passing through Kyiv, Apple Maps directed me to a side road. I thought that it would be a pleasant ride and I would get to see another side of rural Ukrainian villages. Well, these videos show otherwise. After a grueling 3-hour ride (Ukrainian roads in rural areas are the worst I have ever seen, bar none), the GPS took me to a dead end on a narrow, one-lane dirt road where I was greeted by a cow. I was not amused.

I took another wrong turn and ended up driving on a road full of potholes the wrong way for about 20 minutes. I finally saw a woman by the side of the road, and she directed me to go back the way I came. That meant another 20 minutes of evading giant potholes to get back to where I saw the cow. Somehow, I made it to Chyhyrn in time to meet Svitlana. So much for a pleasant, relaxing ride through the Ukrainian countryside.

(Note that the other driver and I are driving on the wrong side of the road—to evade the potholes on our side.)

Chyhyryn (also spelled Chihirin) is a sister city of my hometown, Sebastopol.
When I learned at the last minute that my bread distribution trip would take me through Chyhyryn on the way to Oleksandriya, I contacted Patty Deignan, coordinator of the sister city program in Sebastopol to see if I could meet with some of the Ukrainians who were involved in the program. She immediately put me in touch with Svitlana.

I was fortunate to meet three other Ukrainian women who had visited Sebastopol, two as recently as this January and February. We had a great time at dinner sharing photos of the town and hearing about their positive impressions of Sebastopol.

Svitlana took me on a tour of a large dormitory associated with a college that is occupied by Ukrainian refugees from the most dangerous war zones in eastern Ukraine. I was able to meet and speak to some of them. I explained why I was in Ukraine, and they were all very grateful for the support for Ukrainian people.

Unfortunately, the dormitory is old, run down and reminiscent of abandoned buildings in our urban centers. The primary problem is that the roof needs urgent repair as the water has created major damage to the walls for several floors and you can see the mold throughout the hallways.

They are in the midst of a fundraising campaign to repair the roof before the rains start this fall. The Sebastopol World Friends program has been a strong supporter of this project as well as others, like providing up to 10 stoves for the kitchens in the dorm rooms.

I was proud to be associated with Sebastopol and the World Friends sister city program as my hosts described to me how much the support meant to them. It’s one thing to hear and read about programs like this and the bread distribution project. (And there are probably hundreds of small organizations throughout Ukraine like this one in Chyhyryn that provide relief to struggling Ukrainians.) But it’s more powerful when you get to see the results firsthand. That’s why I am here in Ukraine.

These three women who have visited Sebastopol are all named Svitlana!

OLEKSANDRIYA

Post #6

August 5, 2024

From Chyhyryn it was supposed to be an hour and a half drive to my next stop, Oleksandriya. However, because of the road conditions again, it took an extra hour.

Here is where I was to meet my guide for the next two days, Sergey, who would take me to deliver food to villages near the front lines. Sergey is the coordinator of a small group of volunteers who bake bread and also collect food to distribute to the villagers. He put me right to work in a large warehouse with 9-10 volunteers. In assembly line fashion, we filled 350 large bags with products like flour, macaroni, oats, canned chicken, canned white beans, chickpea flour, sunflower oil, etc. and packed them in a van and trailer. Each bag weighed 30-35 pounds.

Taking a well-deserved break

The hardest part of the job was bending over to pick up the items and put them in the bags. So I came up with the ingenious idea of me sitting down and picking up two items and placing them in the bags for the volunteers. It was a win-win situation. I got to sit down, and the assemblers didn’t have to bend over to pick up the first two items. I told Sergey and the others that “Americans are very smart” (via Google Translate), and everyone laughed while nodding their heads.

350 bags loaded up and ready to go

Volunteers worked late into the night to bake 100 loaves to take the next day along with the bags of food.

The bread is browning nicely in the small electric ovens provided by the International Humanitarian Hub in Rivne. The Hub is the organization that is the recipient of the $13, 100 we raised for the Bread is Life project.

Here we are at the end of a hard day’s work enjoying each other’s company with the help of Google Translate. They had asked me earlier if I ate meat, and I said, “No, I’m a vegan.” So they grilled a large number of vegetables. When I asked if they were eating any meat, Anton (in the black t-shirt) said, “No we’re eating in solidarity with you.” They are the nicest folks you’ll ever meat :)

We went to bed early because we were scheduled to leave at 3:00 a.m. to distribute the food.

Sergey, Ivan, a minister of a small congregation, Alexii, a retired history teacher, and I embarked on what was to become a 21-hour trip of a lifetime. Sergey drove the entire trip by himself, carrying on an almost nonstop conversation punctuated often with much laughter. Much of the ride was over the ubiquitous potholes at 5 MPH. Consequently. A 6-hour ride became an 8-hour journey.

A beautiful sunrise as we head to the front lines of the war

Initially, I thought that we would be distributing food to safe villages near Oleksandriya but I soon discovered that we were heading to villages near the front lines of the war in the Donetsk region. When I asked if we would be safe, I was assured that we would not put ourselves in danger at any time.

The further east we drove, I noticed large numbers of soldiers in the towns, gas stations, in military and civilian vehicles. We had to pass through multiple checkpoints, and sometimes we were stopped so that the soldiers could check the food bags.

Soldiers waiting for coffee at a gas station

Barriers made of concrete and barbed wire

Because the dirt roads were full of potholes, we discovered parallel roads made by the tracks of tanks which were easier to navigate.

We finally reached our first village called Viroliubivka, where a large crowd of people were awaiting our arrival and crowded around the van. The process was very organized whereby a woman had a list of all the villagers and called each by name to receive their bags. The entire distribution went very quickly as I noticed that as soon as they received their bags, the villagers hurriedly left to return to their homes.

A woman used her bike to carry three bags of food.

A man brought a wheelbarrow to carry his bags of food. His friend told him that he needed to put on a shirt if he wanted his picture taken. He pointed to his overhanging belly and said that there was nothing wrong with his stomach. (Although I don’t understand Ukrainian, I knew exactly what they were saying to each other.)

The next and final stop was to be Markowe. However, as we drove through a small village called Fedorivka, some women by the side of the road pulled us over and said something to Sergey. We started to unload the bags by the side of the road when suddenly, we heard a loud explosion and saw a cloud of smoke.

This was soon followed by another loud explosion and some more smoke and sounds of machine gun fire. I started to become concerned at this point.

Everyone started to hurry up the transfer of the bags, although no one was panicking. My initial reaction was one of fear, not knowing what was happening. As soon as I heard loud machine gun fire from what seemed to be a block away, I knew that it was time to get out of there.

I knew that this was not a movie or a news report. These were live bullets near us that I was hearing. Just then, a military vehicle with its windshield shattered by bullets came speeding by from the direction of the explosions. It swerved wildly over the dirt road and we noticed that all of its tires were flat. I kept thinking, “We need to get out of here.” My colleagues must have felt the same way as we got in the van and drove away from the village. Ivan told me that the Ukrainians were firing their machine guns in the air at Russian drones. The fact that there were drones in the air was also unnerving.

Sergey told me today that five civilians were injured in the village of Markowe, where we were headed. Had the women not stopped us in Fedorivka, he said that we would have come under attack by the Russians in Markowe. Sergey is a religious man and said that God had protected us from death or injury.

When I agreed to help deliver food near the front lines of the war, I didn’t think that I would be one kilometer (.62 of a mile) from live action. According to Sergey, that’s the distance between Fredorivka and Markowe.

A Tale of Two Countries

There are two categories of Ukrainians. The first are those who live in the cities and rural towns away from the front lines of the war. Apart from the air alert sirens (which almost everyone ignores) and the infrequent missile attacks, life goes on fairly normally for this group. I wrote in my previous post about people out and about in Lviv, shopping, eating, and sightseeing as they had before the war started. Of course, there are inconveniences such as power outages and rising costs of goods. However, this population is not in imminent danger of death and injury.

The second category are the villagers who live near the front lines of the war, fearing for their lives and living under immense stress on a daily basis. They spend much of their day in the basements of their homes, tired and hungry. Hungry because, according to Sergey, most stores have closed due to the war, and the villagers depend on aid organizations to supply them with nourishment. I asked Sergey how he decides which villages should receive the food, and he said the villages close to the active fighting where the people are isolated in their homes and basements are the priority.

I noticed something interesting about the Ukrainians who received bread in Chernihiv and those who received the food bags in the villages by the front lines. You will recall how the ones in Chernihiv all thanked me with smiles on their faces. Not a single one in the villages thanked me or even looked me in the eye. They just grabbed their bags and scurried out of there, hoping to get back to their homes before something happened to them. When I asked Anton, Sergey’s brother-in-law, why this was the case, he said that the villagers are very tired of the war and can’t smile or be grateful anymore.

I came to Ukraine, not only to bring Alla home safely, but I wanted to see for myself how the Ukrainians were handling the war, and how it was affecting their everyday lives. The reason I selected the bread distribution project was to get as close to the front lines as possible to experience what the villagers go through every day. For that reason, I consider myself fortunate to have experienced the dangerous situation yesterday without suffering any injuries. I’ve read a lot about what these villagers are going through, but I really had no idea until I could actually feel their fear and see it in their eyes as the machine guns fired loudly a few yards away.

I have the highest regard and admiration for ordinary people like Sergey, who drive 21 hours without a single complaint and who put his life on the line so that he can give the villagers some hope. He and his team of volunteers, as well as Lubov, the baker in Kyiv, are all Christians who believe that their calling in life is to help those in need. They are some of the kindest, generous, and warm human beings I have ever met.

My friend, Sheri, put it best. “Sometimes it is so hard to accept that there is evil in the world, to not feel the shadows close in on the best of our humanity.  That is why we must always be reminded that history is also full of beautiful tales of human kindness and compassion as well.”

KYIV AND BUCHA

Post #7

August 8, 2024

I had two goals for my final trip to Kyiv. The first was to go to the Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) and the second was to pay my respects to the Ukrainians massacred by the Russians in the town of Bucha, just outside of Kyiv.

Maidan is a huge square in the middle of Kyiv that gave birth to the pro-democracy, pro-Europe demonstrations which resulted in the ouster of a Russian-backed President in 2014. The square was the site of hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, nearly 100 of whom died in violent clashes with pro-Russian security forces.

Maidan Square in 2014

Maidan Square today

I knew that in Maidan Square there is a green meadow where a flag has been placed for every soldier who has died in combat since February 24, 2022.The flags are marked with the names of the soldiers, date of birth and death. Photographs of the dead soldiers are scattered throughout the meadow. There is not an official count of Ukrainian soldiers who have died. But there are literally thousands of flags in this solemn place.

Fallen soldiers from the same regiment

I went to Maidan Independence Square to pay my respects to Ukrainian soldiers who died while defending their country.

I then went to Bucha to also pay my respects, this time to ordinary Ukrainian citizens who were murdered by evil and depraved Russian soldiers. These citizens didn’t carry weapons and weren’t defending their homeland. They were merely living their normal lives in a peaceful city just outside of Kyiv.

Most of you remember hearing about Bucha shortly after the war started. The Russians occupied the town for a month as they were attempting to capture Kyiv. According to the Ukrainian government, 458 Ukrainians were massacred in cold blood, many at close range to their heads. Their bodies were dumped in the streets, some with hands tied behind their backs. Countless women and young girls were raped.

(Warning: The following photos are graphic and disturbing.)

In March of 2024 a Wall of Remembrance was constructed on the grounds of the Church of St. Andrew. Currently, the memorial contains 509 names of civilians who have been identified. Some plaques are still nameless. On the territory of a church there is a mass grave from which 116 bodies were exhumed after the liberation of Bucha.

The memorial was closed to the public when I arrived this afternoon. However, I was able to take a few photos of the back of the church where the memorial is located.

Bucha is a quiet suburb of Kyiv, almost totally destroyed during the Russian occupation in 2022. It was amazing for me to see the reconstruction and transformation of the city in such a short period of time. Driving through the city today you would never imagine that this city was in ruins at one point. The following are some photos by Serhiy Nuzhnenko, who was one of the first photojournalists to enter Bucha when the Russians occupied the town—and came back the year after to see it transformed.

In planning for this trip, I made reservations to visit Auschwitz and Schindler’s Factory Museum in Krakow, Poland, followed by a tour of what’s remaining of the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw. Now I’m not sure I can handle any more stories of atrocities in this world. What keeps me going, however, are people like Sergey, Ivan, Aleksii, Anton, Nastya, Svitlana, and Lubov, who lead selfless lives of service to the most vulnerable and helpless people among us.

When I was in Kyiv last week, I was given a tour of a city called Irpin, just outside of Kyiv, where a major battle took place between the Ukrainians and the Russians, and the Russians were defeated and the tide of the war turned in favor of the Ukrainians. Had Irpin fallen to the Russians, many believe that Kyiv and the country would have been taken over by the Russians.

We were leaving Irpin when I noticed a very colorful building in the distance. I asked my guide to stop and turn around so I could get a picture of this very unusual colored building. It turns out that it was a kindergarten. All the buildings and play structures were also brightly colored.

As we got into the car to head back to Kyiv, I noticed this bombed-out building directly across the street from the colorful kindergarten building. The juxtaposition of the two structures couldn’t have been more appropriate. I couldn’t help but think that the kindergarten represents laughter, play, hope and optimism for the future while the building across the street is a symbol of death, destruction, defeat and pessimism about the future. As I think about the atrocities in the school basement in Yahidne and the genocide in Bucha, I will remember the colorful kindergarten building as a symbol of hope for the young people of Ukraine.

RIVNE

Post #8

August 9, 2024

I thought that things couldn’t get more emotional than they have been on this trip, but today I had the privilege of meeting and talking to injured Ukrainian soldiers at a hospital in Rivne. This was not on my schedule so the opportunity to meet them came as a surprise. First things first . . .

The International Humanitarian Hub

The International Humanitarian Hub is an organization in Rivne that coordinates the collection and distribution of large amounts of food, clothing, medical supplies, and equipment to numerous volunteer groups throughout Ukraine who, in turn, take the items to vulnerable Ukrainians near the front lines of the war. They are the group that received the $13,100 I raised with your help, and they purchase flour for a number of small bakeries throughout Ukraine.

The Hub receives large donations of goods from the United States, Canada, and countries in Europe and store the items in its warehouse.

I met with Vadim, a 27 year old, who is one of the coordinators of the program. I was extremely impressed with the fact that this young man was coordinating the logistics of huge shipments of aid and scheduling numerous deliveries throughout the country.  He also helps to coordinate over 1,500 volunteers throughout the country.

In addition to the distribution of aid, the Hub provides building materials to volunteer organizations that help repair and rebuild numerous homes that were destroyed by Russian attacks. The Hub helped repair a tractor that was damaged by the Russians. As a result, the farmer was able to plant crops that could feed numerous families in the village.

The Hub also operates several summer camps for children from the front lines of the war. The camps give the children the opportunity to participate in fun activities and socialize with other refugee children.

The warehouse is home to a small “museum” of military items donated by Ukrainian soldiers to the Hub in appreciation for their provision of aid items, such as medical supplies and equipment. To my left is a uniform of a Russian soldier. There are large and small shell casings, rockets and bullets. Vadim gave me a casing from a Ukrainian rocket launcher as a souvenir.

Before I came to Ukraine, I knew that there were numerous small volunteer organizations throughout the country that worked either in concert with other organizations or on their own with the singular goal of providing all necessary aid to the Ukrainians who are struggling to survive. The best part of my experience here has been to meet the actual Ukrainians on the ground who are working tirelessly to make a difference. Vadim is one of them. Victoriia, who organized my visit with the wounded soldiers, is another.

Rivne Area #1 Hospital

This hospital is one of many civilian hospitals throughout the country that have opened wings to treat injured soldiers. When I was given the opportunity to meet some wounded soldiers at the Rivne Area #1 Hospital, I jumped at the opportunity. It was an afternoon I will cherish and will never forget.

Victoriia is a volunteer who has taken on the wounded soldiers as part of her family and visits them daily and provides them with aid and supplies. All the soldiers know and appreciate her. Therefore, when she asked if they would be willing to talk to me, they readily agreed.

Andriiy stepped on a mine and broke both legs and was burned in various parts of his body. This photo is of Andriiy when he was first admitted to the hospital three months ago. After multiple surgeries he is doing much better. He has a wife and a daughter who come to visit every other week.

Here is Andriiy today.

Artwork by Andriiy’s daughter

Misha also stepped on a mine and has been in the hospital for four months, undergoing six operations to repair his arm. He is fortunate in that his wife and son live in Rivne so he is able to see them often.

Victor was the victim of a bomb attack by a drone. He’s had 18 operations on his arm. Here he is showing a photo of his son who was born on March 6, 2024, ten days after the war started. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for him and his wife at that time. The second photo is a recent one of his wife and son, now two and a half months old. He told his wife not to bring his son to visit because it’s too hard on his son.

Notice the thumbs up sign.

Urslan’s arm was injured by a drone bomb attack. He’s had five operations and has been in the hospital for six weeks. He has a 26 year old daughter. He was a fireman before he joined the military.

I noticed some sushi by his bed and asked where it came from. He said a lot of the food is brought by volunteers. He jokingly said that the volunteers come too often and bring too much food.

Urslan is a 53 year old former truck driver who was injured by a bomb and had to have his right foot amputated. His wife visits him every weekend, and he has a 32 year old son. Some children at a local school sent the drawings on the wall. As we were leaving, he said that he didn’t know if he could go back to driving a truck. With tears in his eyes, he said that all he wanted to do was to go fishing.

Dr. Valentin Ivanovich is the head surgeon at this hospital who is considered a hero because he has saved many soldiers’ lives. His head nurse is Natalia. Victoria, who organized the visit, is on the left.

As we were preparing to leave, we saw a mother and child pushing a soldier down the hallway in a wheelchair. His name is Maxim and he is a major in the military. He was struck by a bomb from a drone. He said that some new reinforcement soldiers had arrived shortly before he was injured, and they tended to use their cell phones. He believed that it gave away their position to the Russians and that was the cause of his injury.

I asked how his son was handling the situation. His son had sat down on a nearby couch and was listening to music on his ear pods and playing a game on his phone. Maxim pointed to his son and said, “He’s fine, he’s a kid.” I asked if his son thought he was a hero, to which his son said, “Da (yes).”

Maxim then said that as soon as he got better, he wanted to go back to his troops, but his wife didn’t want him to go. I looked at his wife and noticed that she was crying. The rest of us were struggling with our emotions and our own tears at that moment.

When Victoriia told the soldiers who I was and that I came from America to provide aid to the Ukrainians who were struggling during the war, every one of them thanked Americans for supporting them. When I said “Slava Ukraini!” (Glory to Ukraine), the typical response would be “Heroiam Slava!” (Glory to the Heroes). However, one of them said, “Slava America!”

I was extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet real Ukrainian soldiers who are struggling with their injuries and the effects of the injuries on them and their families. I’ve written before about the powerful connection that is present between the giver and the receiver. Although I was not a giver and they were not a receiver, I still felt that strong connection between us as I shook their hands, and we thanked each other.

До побачення, Україна! 

GOODBYE, UKRAINE!

Blog Post #9 (The Final One)

Sitting in my hotel room in Lviv, I’m trying to come up with something profound to summarize my incredible journey, but nothing materializes. Too many images, feelings, and memories to wrap up in a neat package. So I’m just going to share the lyrics to the Ukrainian National Anthem and a video of a performance of the anthem today at a park in Lviv. 

Never perished is Ukraine,

Nor her glory and freedom!

Still upon us, young brethren,

Fate shall smile!

Our enemies shall vanish

Like dew in the sun;

We too shall rule

In our beloved country.

[Chorus]

Soul and body shall we lay down

For our freedom

And show that we are brethren

Of the Cossack nation

A trio of musicians consisting of a violinist, bassist and drummer concluded their set of beautiful music by playing the Ukrainian National Anthem. As I was videotaping the audience, I noticed a group of young girls to my right. One girl, in particular, caught my eye. She was singing intently with her hand over her heart while nodding along in time to the music.

As the last notes of the anthem fades, she wipes the tears from her eyes. Why the anthem made her cry, I do not know, but I pray that the war will end soon, and she and all Ukrainians can sing the anthem with enthusiasm and smiles in their hearts.

Slava Ukraini!

Postscript

On August 11 I caught a bus from Lviv at 10:45 a.m. which was scheduled to arrive in Krakow, Poland at 5:20 p.m. However, we arrived at 1:00 a.m. because we were stuck at the border for almost 8 hours. It was frustrating because no one was able to explain to me the reason for the delay, so I either sat in the bus or walked outside for the entire 8 hours.

My daughter-in-law wrote later with the most logical reason for the delay: “Ukraine doesn’t want you to leave!”