April 12, 2022

 

I made it home safe and sound last night, experiencing a whirlwind of emotions. This will be my final post and I will share some random news, thoughts, and impressions.

1.    The rental car company will not be happy when they see that I drove their new car 8,850 kilometers (5,500 miles) in only two weeks. After subtracting about 500 miles for personal use, I estimate that I drove 5,000 miles in 14 days transporting Ukrainian families (an average of 357 miles/day).

2.    In spite of deep polarization of political views throughout the world, it is heartening to see people from all backgrounds come together in a caring and compassionate manner to support those suffering the effects of war. Thousands of volunteers and scores of aid agencies rushed to Ukraine and neighboring countries as soon as the images of the women and children appeared in the news. I saw countless examples of kindness on the part of the volunteers. The prevailing attitude was, "I will do whatever needs to be done to help the Ukrainians."

3.    Every Ukrainian person I met and helped (except for one) genuinely expressed their deep gratitude for the acts of kindness they experienced, sometimes with tears in their eyes and always with a big hug. They were surprised and genuinely moved that someone from California would travel thousands of miles just to help them.

4.    I am fortunate that I have the time, energy, and funds to take off and go to another country to volunteer. I realize that many people would like to do the same but have constraints that prevent them from doing so. If you ever have the opportunity to do so, I would take the plunge and do it because you will gain a new perspective on the lives of people in crisis situations. You will also expand your capacity for compassion and kindness. If you are unable to travel overseas to volunteer, there are plenty of needy individuals in your own community.

4.    Every time I return from volunteering overseas with refugees, I realize how most of us live very privileged lives, and I am reminded to be grateful that I live without worrying about food, shelter, and fear of getting killed or injured. The next time I begin to complain about some petty matter, I hope I will stop and think about what millions of Ukrainian, Afghani, Syrian, Yemeni, and Rohingya refugees are going through at this moment.

5.    When I started my GoFundMe campaign to support Type of Wood Charities, I promised donors that I would be their emissary, ensuring that the monies would go directly to support the Ukrainian families. Whether it was buying food and delivering it to displaced Ukrainians within the country, buying and distributing suitcases to those fleeing with all their possessions in plastic bags, paying for van rentals and gasoline to transport the refugees to safety, or paying for hotel rooms, train and plane tickets, I can assure you that the donations were used directly to help the Ukrainians.    

If you are motivated to contribute additional funds, I will keep my GoFundMe campaign for Type of Wood Charities at https://gofund.me/024c1b07 open for a period. I wrote about Caritas-Ukraine, an excellent aid organization that provides tons of food and other supplies to Ukrainians trapped in their country and with whom I spent a day visiting their shelters. You can contribute online at https://www.caritas.org/what-we-do/conflicts-and-disasters/crisis-in-ukraine/. A third aid organization that I highly recommend is Lifting Hands International (liftinghandsinternational.org). They are the organization that I volunteered with in Greece in 2019 and who have an active presence in providing aid to Ukrainians. I personally know each of the coordinators who run these organizations and can ensure you that all donations will go directly to provide relief to the Ukrainians.

6.    This morning I wired money via Western Union to Alex at the Caritas-Ukraine organization to buy a dryer for the shelter in Ukraine that is housing the orphans with disabilities. These are orphans who were hastily evacuated from the most dangerous cities in Ukraine and brought to the relative safety of the western region. I am sure that the staff at the shelter will be thrilled that they won't have to dry clothes for the 50+ orphans on clotheslines outside in the cold and rainy weather typical of this time of year. 

7.    As I write this with tears in my eyes, I think of all the innocent Ukrainians massacred in Bucha; those killed, and injured in a train station by a missile as they were desperately trying to flee; killed as they sheltered in a movie theater; kidnapped and forced to relocate to Russian towns far from home; and starving and frightened in basements and shelters. I read this morning about the increasing number of women and children who have been raped by Russian soldiers, and I feel incredibly sad because all of the above Ukrainians were the exact type of people that I met during the past two weeks: kind, grateful, courageous, and scared. Except that they were the unlucky ones.

Several of the Ukrainians told me that they believe that Russia will be defeated, and that their country will be rebuilt (over many years) to become stronger and more beautiful. They invited me to visit their country when that happens. I plan to take them up on their invitation.

8.    In the Buddhist tradition there is a metta (loving-kindness) meditation that is the simple practice of directing well wishes to all people. I end this blog by directing this version by Jack Kornfield to all Ukrainians everywhere.

May all beings far and near, all beings young and old, beings in every direction, be held in great loving-kindness. May they be safe and protected. May they be healthy and strong. May they be truly happy.