Clara Drag ’25
My sources asked me to not reveal any specific locations or any specific details except for the ones they provided
At this point, everyone should be aware of the tragedies in Ukraine. These horrific acts come from a place of evil. Is so important for people to take charge and do everything they can to help Ukraine.
Board Member of Directors of Polish American Foundation of Connecticut/Humanitarian Missions Anna Kobylarz shared her insights. “I felt the need to go to Ukraine because of the monstrosities that are going on, ” she said. “Plus the desperate need for help in terms of the Russian Ukrainian War is what really drove me to pack up and go.”
Ms. Kobylarz shared one of her heart-wrenching stories and said that at the end of the day she couldn’t help but sob so hard that everyone in the parking lot outside the hospital could hear her. Ms. Kobylarz and her friend were tasked with driving an ambulance to transport two kids from a hospital that had reached capacity. “We had already started on our way to pick up the kids when we got the information that the city we were driving to had been bombed,” Ms. Kobylarz said. They understood the risks and decided to keep driving. As they approached the outskirts of the city, it was in complete ruins. “It looked like something out of a horror movie,” she said.
They dropped one of the children in a gynecology center, but still had to take the second child to a hospital in Poland. The city was not too far away from the Polish border, but there were so many people that were trying to flee the country that the roads were a complete disaster. “We were on the border for a really long time with this sick kid,” said Ms. Kobylarz. “I was constantly worried that something would happen to the kid because he was in such bad shape.” When they finally arrived at the hospital in Warsaw, Poland, they had to wait over three hours for the child to be admitted.
Even though the child’s arrival was already scheduled in advance, the hospital was overflowing with refugees. “One of the hardest parts of that day was when I had to talk to the mother and grandmother of the child,” she said. “They were so devastated.” The child had to be rushed into emergency surgery; luckily the surgery was a success. After the surgery, the child’s family informed Ms. Kobylarz that this was their 35th surgery and that this child was one of the sickest children in the unit.
Ms. Kobylarz also told me about many other Ukrainian heroes. Father Pio is a local Protestant priest who has been working hard to build a much-needed sanctuary and orphanage for kids in Ukraine. “Although, currently, work on this building has been paused due to a bombing, he is still optimistic that it will get completed,” Ms. Kobylarz said.
Another hero that she described to me was a local Ukranian woman named Marta. Marta is a woman of few words, but her actions speak much louder. She has been running an orphanage in Ukraine for a while now, but with the current war going on she has made few adjustments. Since so many people are fleeing Ukraine, many of Marta’s volunteers have left the country, leaving the orphanage at full capacity and only a few workers. When Ms. Kobylarz visited the orphanage and picked up one of the kids, a volunteer immediately told her to put the child down because the other children would get jealous. Marta is now accepting single mothers looking for refuge into her shelter and all kinds of animals. The war has meant that so many people have to leave behind their animals, so Marta does her best to drive around town and look for strays or animals that people have left behind.
Ms. Kobylarz also shared that so many people had to leave their animals behind chained up. She even shared a story about a dog that was trying to steal eggs from a hen. She said that we live a life of privilege. We have enough to provide for our children and animals but people in Ukraine do not have that luxury. They do not have that privilege.
There are many heroes that are currently fighting for Ukraine. However, the demand for heroes is still high. Even when Russian soldiers have moved on from a city, the aftermath they leave behind for civilians is horrific. Civilians lack food, medicine, and even animal food. Ms. Kobylarz shared that on one of her trips to a local Ukranian village that had been attacked, people came running after her begging for food because even though they had rice and other food, they had no way of cooking since without electricity.
The tragedies that have become normal in Ukraine should inspire the Kingswood Oxford community to help out in any way they can. Some examples include fundraising, donating, or even just discussing and informing or encouraging people to make change. Be the hero that Ukraine needs.
