Ukraine – Leaving Ukraine
Crossing the border into Poland, I turned off my air raid app. A small gesture, yet it brought relief after weeks in Ukraine, where tension lives in the air. I am glad to not hear air raids or warning pings on my phone. This trip, I found myself saying mantras, in cars, beside memorials to fallen defenders. Their photos, their [...]
Ukraine – Protez Foundation Kyiv
Catching up again.Another glaring impact of war is the number of amputees. You see people with artificial limbs everywhere.We had an amazing visit with the PROTEZ FOUNDATION in Kyiv, This organization provides prosthetics for lost limbs. We visited the first clinic in Mukachavo two years ago. It is run by two brothers, one in Ukraine and the other, Yakov, in [...]
Ukraine – Meeting friends in Kyiv
Last evening we had dinner with a young couple, maybe in their thirties, dear friends of Anastasia, our Ukrainian friend from Helena. They are both artists, graphic designers, creative souls. Their normal is quite different. They live in a Kyiv neighborhood that is hit frequently. From their apartment on the 13th floor of a 25-story building, they showed us videos [...]
Ukraine – Peace Proposal Kyiv
Thinking about the peace plan proposals, how will this end? How can it end? I went down to the square this morning and walked among the memorial flags and photos of these defenders. It is gut wrenching seeing their photos, their once smiling faces, their ages. How does one surrender in any way with so much spilled blood??? But how [...]
Ukraine – Kharkiv
Our Ukrainian colleague Max met us in Kyiv, and together we began the long drive east to Kharkiv. Five hours on foggy winter roads, passing through multiple checkpoints. Some manned by soldiers scanning for weapons, others by military officials checking phones for digital IDs. Every Ukrainian carries their documents on their phone now, and somewhere, a master citizen list exists. [...]
Ukraine – Zhytomyr Last Day
Our last day in Zhytomyr was unexpectedly uplifting, the kind of day that settles deep in your heart. We visited the Babushka Battalion, a circle of senior women who have taken the rhythm of a sewing machine and turned it into an act of devotion. Tama and Cathy, our HOG colleagues, found them last year, and I’m so grateful they did.They welcomed [...]