Hi, it's Loree. I met my brother Dmitriy at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. If you are surpised that I have a brother, I was too, until I met him. I would like you to meet Dmitriy and Ruslan, his friend for more than a decade. They are wonderful people and I am here to ask you to help them raise money for the lifesaving work they are doing. Dmitriy and Ruslan are in eastern Ukraine. They live in constant danger. The war cost them their jobs – and so much more.
Dmitriy and his family lost their home and all their belongings. Now they listen to the sounds of shelling and air raid sirens for hours on end. What would you do if your life became a nightmare? If you are Dmitriy, Ruslan and their friends, you find ways to help people whose lives are even harder.
They spend their days as part of an incredibly brave group of volunteers who risk their own lives to help their fellow Ukrainians survive. They wait in endless lines to find food and spend countless hours sourcing gasoline, and then Ruslan does the unthinkable. He buckles up and drives again and again to the Donbas region, bringing food, medicine, diapers and other supplies to the people who are trapped there, and evacuates as many people as he can.
Dmitriy and Ruslan would tell you that they’re just ordinary people, but even before the war began, they were heroes in their everyday lives. Now, from my home in Atlanta, I watch them accomplish the impossible every day. Here they are, in their own words.
Hello! My name is Ruslan. Before the war, I worked for a toy company, and in my free time I wanted to be useful to people! My hobby is working as a hairdresser and I cut hair for homeless people on the street in Kyiv.
I lived and worked in the beautiful and peaceful city of Irpin!!! Before the war, I also volunteered in Kyiv by spending weekends visiting orphans, and in the summer we provided two weeks of educational programs at their school!!! I have a car with 7 seats, and when the war started, I took one family to the city of Lviv from Irpen, and from there they were able to find refuge abroad. This inspired me to help people and I decided to take people out of the hot spots!!! In Lviv, we began to receive people at the station and take them to the Polish border. Now my friends and I transport people out of the Donetsk region! On our trips to the region to pick up people, we take food to distribute to those people who cannot leave!!!
The last time we were in the City of Privollya (Luhansk region) there were a lot of people who wanted to leave, but we only had two cars, so we returned several times for people! When we arrived in Privollya, phosphorus bombs landed in the village. People tried to put out the flames, but phosphorus requires earth or sand to extinguish. Unfortunately people who live in apartments don’t have these things on hand, and many people were badly burned. But we had brought food and we distributed everything we had!!!
The last time we took people to the Dnieper, we bought them tickets to where their relatives are, but it gets more difficult every time. During that trip, we transported a man and his dog, but she died on the way. But we are grateful that so far we have transported 340 people: children, their mothers and the elderly.
Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of products to distribute to everyone. Like everyone these days, we spend a lot of money on fuel. In the Donetsk and Luhansk regions there is no fuel at all, so we carry cans of gasoline with us, which is now very expensive.
In Lesichansk and Privollya there is no water, gas or electricity. People cook in their yards on a fire. They sleep in basements. They don't have hygiene products. There are still a lot of children left there.
Our next trip was planned for two weeks from now, but our transport is under repair. In addition to needing fresh oil and new brake pads, I lost the muffler driving on a heavily shelled road! The cost of repairs, the cost of supplies and the cost of fuel unfortunately limits the number of people we can help, due to our limited finances. We have all lost our jobs due to the war, and it is difficult for us to find financial assistance, so we appeal to everyone we know. We ask you for help, because like you, we are not indifferent to the lives of ordinary people who are now suffering from the war. We are trying to help our country as best we can, with all the strength we have. We need your support because every trip is a big test.
Hi, it's Loree again. The volunteers provide care packages in the true meaning of those words. They supply bread, vegetable oil, buckwheat, flour, rice, candy, cereal, pasta, canned food, instant noodles, salt, sugar, water, matches, toothpaste, shampoo, diapers and feminine hygiene products to families that no longer have these things and no longer have access to these things. The drives to and from the Donbas are long. Each trip costs $1,000-1,200. Ruslan's car needs repairs that will cost at least $500. The volunteers need a larger vehicle to be able to help more people escape and to accommodate more supplies to help those who remain. They have found a suitable minibus for $15,000.
Hello, my name is Dmitriy, and I am the curator of our big mission, "Road of Life." The war in Ukraine did not leave many people indifferent, including me. Our world turned upside down and became before and after! Our hearts burn with the desire to help our compatriots, and we are doing it. With your help, we can do more, much more! We buy groceries and personal hygiene products, and pack and deliver the kits ourselves, as they say, "from heart to heart." Let's make this world a little kinder together!
It’s Loree again. I am humbled and honored to know these selfless people. They’ve taught me what helping really is. It’s cutting hair for human beings who don’t have homes. It’s making sure orphans feel cared about. It’s spending countless hours researching and reaching out, remaining compassionate, and kind, and human in the face of war crimes and unprovoked attacks. It's helping people, just like you, who went from living in a major metropolitan city to sheltering in that city’s subway station.
And when you’re half a world away in the safety of your own home, it’s sending words of support so that the real helpers know that they’re not alone, and it’s sending them money so they can continue to give other people hope.
Please don’t think that any amount of money is too small. Honestly, $5 buys five loaves of bread. It buys gasoline and diapers. It helps the brave people still in eastern Ukraine who, through it all, maintain their dignity and their sense of humor, and keep their heads held high while enduring the unspeakable. With all my heart, I thank you. Together we are bringing the sunshine that makes the sunflowers grow.
#ruslansroadoflife
Slava Ukraini!
