Update on Situation in the Ukraine with personal stories from year long trip throughout the country

Like many people, I watched with a mix of sadness and anger as Russia’s totally unjustified invasion of Ukraine unfolded in February 2022.  The indiscriminate shelling of remote farming villages, the deliberate bombing of civilian targets, the blatant aggression, the heartbreaking scenes of elderly people fleeing their homes – for me it felt like I was watching something akin to Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939 at the start of World War 2, only this time it was in real time.

​My initial instinct was to donate to a charity in Ukraine, which I did.  But for some reason, writing a check and stopping there just didn’t seem to be enough.  This time, I felt a call to action like never before.  I didn’t know how to help out, but I knew one thing: doing nothing was NOT an option.  I had to go there and help out in some way, but how?

I have just returned from a 1 year stay in Ukraine, my 7th trip there since the beginning of the war. While there, we sourced and delivered essential humanitarian aid to the hardest-hit areas of the country, often not far from the front lines, where other NGO’s won’t go because of the risk.  I have done numerous talks for Rotary Clubs in NH and MA, including Manchester North, Bedford, Exeter, Dover, Portsmouth, Salem, Goffstown, Hollis, Hopkinton and others.