Ukraine Help!
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Raising Funds
to Support Ukraine with Military and Humanitarian Aid
Hello to all,
My name is Chris Bryden. I served in the United States Peace Corps in Ukraine from 2005 to ’07. While there, I immersed myself in the Ukrainian culture, learning the language, history the Ukrainians’ hopes and aspirations. I broke bread in countless scenarios, sat around kitchen tables playing music, rode overnight trains, learned to can vegetables, appreciate sunflowers, and sharpened my chess-playing skills, all while telling stories, learning, sharing, growing. Working alongside my Ukrainian colleagues, we delivered programming to better the life of the youth – leadership, business, civics, HIV/AIDS prevention, a good deeds initiative, transformative summer camps, a basketball club, etc. The Ukrainian people became my lifelong friends.
My Ukrainian students (age ~8) and I (c. 2006)
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As the war in Ukraine broke out, my Ukrainian friends and colleagues began to appeal for help. Below are dispatches from three of them as they quickly transitioned from their quiet civilian lives to defenders of their country.
From Teacher to Molotov Cocktail-Maker:
Nataliya [last name removed to protect identity] was my lifeline to the Ukrainian culture in the town of Rubizhne where I lived. Nataliya is an extremely kind and generous high school teacher who co-sponsored an HIV/AIDS prevention program with me. She wrote to me earlier this month:
“Today we really need prayer. Ukrainian cities are being shelled. We learned how to make Molotov cocktails. Our men in territorial defense. We pray for our soldiers to endure, and we really need [you] to close the sky for us. I know that the whole world is with us.”
She then asked for funds to buy scopes to mount on rifles.
Nataliya [last name removed to protect identity] and I (c. 2006)
From Husband and Father to Ukrainian Army Private:
Maks [last name removed to protect identity], one of the most articulate and intelligent friends I’ve ever had, looked after me while I lived in the easternmost oblast (an oblast is a province, or state) of Donetsk, even ushering me out of a dangerous situation one evening at a nightclub. Music and cross-cultural exchange were our shared passions. We had a video call on February 27 of this year, a few days before he deployed for the Ukrainian army. Maks told me of Ukrainians blowing up their own infrastructure (roads, bridges) as a defense against the Russian advance:
“Roads are just destroyed, totally destroyed, but that’s the price we’re all willing to pay...” he said. “On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I want to thank you as a representative of the American people - I want to thank you for the support, the kind of support we’re having now by just talking and you listening. That’s a luxury actually.”
A few days later, from his military post, he reached out with a request for support:
“I’m serving in liaison forces. We need lots of tech stuff, like radio sets/walkie-talkies, batteries and/or Starlink transmitters…and a protected, heavy-duty laptop. They don’t have to be brand new. If you have contacts who can help – that would be a valuable asset.” And then, “Hope to see you when it’s over. Take care and pray for Ukraine! Sincerely yours, Donbass Bandera, Private [last name removed to protect identity]!”
Maks just before deploying for the Ukrainian Army
From Peace Corps to Army Corps:
Last, Anatolii [last name removed to protect identity] was the Peace Corps Ukraine manager for the Youth Development program. A young, energetic, and dedicated servant of his homeland, he piloted our program and gave everything he could so that Ukrainian youth could have a better life. Now he writes me:
“I am working as an IT specialist coordinating support for our Ukrainian army. We are looking for lightweight bullet proof vests. We could order in the EU. Please let me know if you could support/contribute to this initiative.”
Anatolii [last name removed to protect identity], Peace Corps Ukraine Youth Development Program Manager center, (c. 2006)
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When those with whom you share bonds of affection are under siege, war is no longer something in the abstract, happening out there to people you do not know. The war in Ukraine is personal to me in a profound way: those streets being bombed are the very streets I strolled down; the bomb craters and rubble were the buildings I lived in; the death, destruction and violence – it’s all happening to people I know, love and care about.
As I listened to these appeals, safe in Silicon Valley, I decided that I had a duty to help in some way. Concurrently, a few of my American friends (Wylie Linquist and Mike and Sharyn Mousseau) and family members reached out to me with the same line of inquiry: “You were in the Peace Corps in Ukraine - do you know anyone that needs any support over there?” “YES!” I exclaimed in gratitude. They Venmo’d funds. My Ukrainian friends sent me their bank account information and I wired some funds to them via Western Union (Western Union’s waiving transaction fees for money sent to Ukraine at this time).
My friends were grateful to receive the support. Nataliya donated the money I sent to fundraisers to buy a car for paramedics. Still the donations are just a drop in the bucket: more is needed.
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Last week, I called Anatolii (Ukrainian Peace Corps Program Manager referenced above), asking him how I could be of help. He replied that they are in SIGNIFICANT NEED of military and humanitarian support for the Ukrainian military and civilians. In response to his request, I am launching this fundraising campaign to help. Will you help Anatolii, Maks, Nataliya and their Ukrainian compatriots at this critical time? Your support can save lives, alleviate suffering and help Ukrainians defend their homeland. By donating to this fundraising campaign, you will be helping my Ukrainian friends directly, making it a more personal, direct form of assistance in contrast with donating to a large humanitarian relief organization. Anatolii is an extremely trustworthy person, as his years of selfless Peace Corps service for his country demonstrate. I will update you on the impact of your donation as information become available. The list of needed items that Anatolii put together follows below. He advised me that “it would be easier if you raise and send funds and we would source via our network in Europe.”
Military Items:
- Bulletproof life vests (class 4 or higher)
- Rangefinders (250m and higher)
- Night vision devices (150m and higher)
- Thermal binoculars (500m and higher)
- Walkie talkies (2,5km and higher)
- Diesel or gas generators (6kW)
- Plate carriers
- Helmets
- Body armor
- Drone machines
Medical Items:
- Painkillers
- Tourniquets
- Bandages
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Iodine
- Chlorhexidine
- Patches
- Sterile dressing
- Syringes
- First aid kits
Clothing:
- Men’s tactical shoes
- Hats
- Warm socks
- Belts
- Thermal underwear
- Tactical gloves
- Tactical jackets and trousers
Equipment:
- Torches
- Batteries (AA)
- Power banks
- Basic cell phones
Children:
- Baby food
- Baby diapers
- Milk formula
- Dry milk
- Food fusion for kids
Other:
- Adult diapers
- Disposable tableware
Food:
- Canned food
- Cereals
- Ready to eat food
- Dry yeast
- Flour
- Noodles
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No Resistance Effort Complete Without Song:
As part of my solidarity efforts with Ukraine, I have just recorded a song that I wrote while living in Ukraine. Called Soviet Man, it tells the tale of the character “Soviet Man,” who is forced to “swear allegiance to prove he still conforms right through,” and as a result, he “learns to play the game and eat those sweet lies that they cook, but takes it with a grain of salt and spits it out when they don’t look.” It’s about the burden one feels at the requirement to conform to a system they do not believe in. Surely many Russians must feel this way at this time, where public deviation from the established narrative can land you in jail for 15 years or more, or worse. Soviet Man’s only comfort is “the thought that there are others like him too, who speak the lies in public but don’t believe them like those fools.” I invite you to listen to Soviet Man here.
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The Ukrainian people are brave, strong, and resilient. Your support greatly amplifies their ability to defend their sovereignty, their very lives. I’ll leave you with some words that Maks explained during our call prior to his deployment to the Ukrainian army, “This nation cannot be conquered,” and, “Even if we lose, even if we are totally destroyed, that’s the one win [that cannot be taken from us], that all the people out there are Ukrainian, finally.” I incorporated his words into my song.
On behalf of my Ukrainian friends, I sincerely thank you in advance for your support.
Slava Ukrainii (Glory to Ukraine),
Chris Bryden
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Ukraine 2005 – ’07)
Additional correspondences from my friends over the last few weeks are below:
Nataliya [last name removed to protect identity]:
“Sad news comes every day…They continue to fire at us from all kinds of weapons that the distraught Russia has accumulated. But I believe in the strength of our soldiers, the strength of our people, in the support that Ukraine receives in the world. Today, an 8-year-okd boy sent me a drawing and signed, ‘In unity is our strength!’ And I believe in it!”
“Last night, Rubizhne [this is the town I lived in while in the Peace Corps] was bombarded with forbidden phosphorous bombs…I donated the money you sent to fundraisers to buy a car for paramedics. They are our angels.”
“Five days have passed since our friend died along with his mother. They came out of hiding to get food and warm clothes at home. A shell hit their home [while they were there]. Lots of destruction, lots of lives…”
Mariia [last name removed to protect identity] (the daughter in the host family that I lived with for a time while in Ukraine)
“Hi, dear Chris! I know you love and support Ukraine in these hard days. So, you could be interested in firsthand information. My friends and colleagues launched this Facebook project where you find credible eyewitness testimony: War Testimonies Ukraine. This page is created to represent the Ukrainian experience of surviving under the circumstances of Russian military aggression to the world community. The people who share their stories are almost all members of the academic community. This project is of particular value for journalists, politicians, historians, and all who want to know what really happened in Ukraine.”
“I want to tell you my family’s story about these days. On February 24th, we were walking with my daughter near Kyiv. We saw a burning plane just over our heads that day. It was a terrible picture. Five Ukrainian soldiers died in that plane…Kyiv is under massive attack right now.”
“Heroyam Slava! [Glory to the heroes]. Thank you Chris! Your leadership classes many years ago are useful in these circumstances – no panic, pray and believe in our Ukrainian army – real heroes! Hope one day we’ll have a chance to talk about all in free and powerful Ukraine.”
