My Volunteer Journey

I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to serve Ukrainians fleeing to Poland. Below is a recollection of my journey of independently volunteering and offering humanitarian aid from Feb 24 - April 6, 2022. Stay Tuned for part 2 when I return to Poland!

Feb 24 - March 10, 2022

News broke out that Russia had invaded Ukraine. I have a good friend in Ukraine that I had planned on visiting, but suddenly it dawned on me that I might not be able to see him anymore. After seeing the news on what's been happening in Ukraine, I decided that I could no longer just sit back and do nothing. I've decided that I need to do something to help. Most of the advertising for "how to help" seems to be asking for money, and usually only to well-advertised organizations like Red Cross or IFRC. I don't tend to donate towards things unless it's very tangible for me (seeing exactly what my donation went towards). I heard that most of the Ukrainian refugees went to Poland, and so I figured I'd just put myself in the middle of the action and figure things out after that. Everything is so sudden that there's no time for any organizations to react quickly enough anyways. Due to the urgency of the conflict, there really just wasn't any good information on how to volunteer at the time. The easiest flight for me was to Warsaw, so off I went.

Week 1 - March 11, 2022

After arriving in Warsaw, I went to the Warsaw Central Station, thinking that many refugees are probably either passing through, or arriving to Poland through the station here. As it turns out, the station was filled with refugees, reporters, and volunteers from all over. The saddest part is that some of the refugees have been sleeping at the train station. Can you imagine being forced to flee your home, go into a foreign land where you do not speak the language, and not know who you can trust? Many of the refugees are mothers with children (because men of fighting age can not leave the country) who wanted nothing to do with war. Since I had flown here to volunteer, I went around asking police how to volunteer (using Google Translate). Thankfully, someone pointed out the volunteer registration station, and I got a yellow construction vest. They asked me which languages I spoke, gave me an English pin, and asked me to volunteer guiding people to the right trains at the train station (the trains work differently in Poland than they do in Ukraine). Unfortunately, the language barrier was a bit high (and it was really unnatural for many of the people to speak into a microphone to use for google translate) so I ended up only helping a few people. Nonetheless, I decided to walk around a bit, and found the soup kitchen right outside of the train station. I figured the soup kitchen would be a lot easier because people can just point to the food they want, and also the vocabulary/conversation topic is limited to whatever food is served. Thus I began my journey serving hundreds of refugees with just a hot warm meal each day. By the way, that's bigos in the picture below - extremely delicious! I had the honor of serving a station right next to an Ukrainian refugee. Being a refugee herself, it REALLY inspired me that despite having her entire life being turned upside down, she decided to instead help others in need. I figured most people would just become bitter and angry at the world, but actually she ended up helping others in her situation. All sorts of people came through, but mostly it was grandparents and mothers with young children. There were some men that came through the food tent as well, but some had bandages or were walking in crutches.

Here are some pictures taken at the Central Station:

The lines were pretty busy each shift, and I basically spent my entire first week at the train station each day. The jet lag actually worked out in my favor, because they really needed volunteers in the middle of the night, and I was able to stay until 5 AM because that's about the time I'd be sleeping in the US. There were fewer people coming in late past midnight, so I had the chance to pack a few bags of candy and walk around the train station handing out candy to little kids. It was really nice seeing the smile on their faces. It's those tiny little moments that give the most satisfaction - that humanity still exists, that the childhood innocence is there, that humans weren't born evil. It was really heart breaking to see some of the moms breaking down in tears. I can't imagine how difficult it would be for the mother. She probably just left her husband to go to a foreign country, and she won't be able to explain to her 6 year old why they have to flee the country one day (kids just won't understand the concept of war) with grandpa and grandma but leave their dad behind.

I continued volunteering each day pretty much the entire day (12 hour shifts), because there were refugees at all hours. There were also several reporters as well. There was a Canadian reporter that recorded us, and also someone from RTL radio came and interviewed me because he saw that I spoke a little bit of French (I wore a French language pin). During the few non-rush times, I tried to speak with some of the refugees in the station. One mom didn't have a way to contact her family in Poland because her sim card didn't work in Poland. Fortunately I had just bought a Poland sim card and so I just gave her my phone to use. It sounded like her family reconnected, so I was pretty happy about that. There was an Ukrainian girl that was studying Chinese and preparing for the HSK test, so I ended up tutoring her in Chinese for about an hour.

Week 2 - March 18, 2022

One of the highlights of my journey was going to the border. So, there's only one walkable border between Poland and Ukraine. This is between the small towns of Medyka and Шегині (Shehyni). I had read on the news that many refugees were crossing by foot via this border to get to Poland, and thus decided to see if I could help over there as well. I ended up renting a car for two days, met up with another volunteer who had gone to the border before, and off we went. Before we left, we took some extra diapers, feminine products, and a huge jug of hand sanitizer to deliver to the other camps at the border.

I should add that throughout this trip, I have really come to deeply admire and respect the people of Poland. The entire camp at central station was all organized by the people on a grassroots level effort, with virtually no help from the government. I met an instagram influencer/model who was coordinating, bringing in donations, and organizing the camp. So many of the volunteers were Polish locals from all walks of life, coming to volunteer with anything and everything. No one gave me trouble for not speaking Polish, even in small towns where no one spoke English. Even from renting the car - as soon as I explained that I was renting a car to drive supplies to the border and to volunteer there - the receptionist gave me really good advice (I had never driven in Europe before) and even let me return the car a bit later than I was supposed to. When I didn't know how to fill up gas (the gas grade is different in Poland), I would just say "Pomocy z gas proszę?" and the attendant even stepped out in freezing weather to fill up gas for me. Even the police were really helpful - when I couldn't find parking, I would try to explain and ask "Jestem wolontariuszem pomoc Ukraińcy. Gdzie parking?" and every single officer was super helpful. (By the way, I'm pretty sure I did not use the correct grammar, as I had just started to learn a few Polish words on my flight over to Poland). Massive shoutout to the amazing people of Poland!

We arrived at the border at 4 AM, and fortunately there weren't many refugees coming through at this time. It was also below freezing weather at this time, which made it even more sad to imagine the journey as a refugee. I toured around for a little bit and slept in the car, which was pretty uncomfortable - if you're like me and never slept in a car in subzero temperature, you'll quickly learn that you'll wake up freezing every 3 hours and turn on the car just to use the heat for a bit. When I checked, there were no hotels available anywhere near the area (nor would I feel comfortable taking up a spot that could be used for a refugee, especially when I already had a car). After I woke up, some time later in the morning, there was indeed a line of refugees coming across the border.

I should explain that the border is actually composed of basically three "sections" here. One part is in Poland, which is about a 100m stretch of sidewalk. This is where all of the tents are lined up. From a quick glance, these seemed to be various small organizations mixed in with indie mom-and-pop tents. As a refugee, once you cross into Poland, you are guided to a bus here that takes you directly to the nearest town, Przemyśl (about 15 min drive). As you can imagine, the refugees aren't usually here waiting too long, so I think many of the tents catered more towards shorter term help - such as giving out food, hygiene products, and even SIM cards. I believe the highest items in-demand here are actually battery packs and SIM cards, because the long journey often means that they'll run out of battery. In today's age, it's really difficult to imagine a life without connectivity for even a few hours.

The second part of the border is a small walkway (maybe 10 min walk?) between the two customs checkpoints. I had the honor of delivering bottled water to the other side of the border, and into Ukraine at one point. It was actually kind of difficult and risky to do this, because you could get stuck at the border and not be able to come back. I had to find others to go with me to deliver the water, and luckily there was this amazing French group that I coordinated with to do that.

The third part of the border is in Шегині (Shehyni), which is actually inside Ukraine. I was shocked to see that one of the first things you come across is a Legion tent. For those unaware, the international Legion is the volunteer fighting force that President Zelensky has set up to help fight for Ukraine. There was no one in there when I went, but I assumed this was maybe a recruitment tent.

On a funny aside (only after the fact), I did something really silly while going through Ukrainian border control. I tried to be polite to the customs agent and said "добрый утро", which means "good morning" in Russian. Under normal times, this would have been fine, as most Ukrainians speak Russian as well; however, it never even occurred to me that here I was, speaking Russian to an UKRAINIAN customs agent, with Ukrainian military personnel nearby. She looked at me, stared for a moment, then looked at my American passport, and said "Добрий ранок. You said good morning to me in Russian. In Ukrainian it's Добрий ранок" and just simply smiled. My face turned bright red as an apple, but I was just really glad that she didn't take it in a bad way. I should also mention that some Russians look very Asian and also for a split second I thought maybe I might have just accidentally came off as a Russian spy going into Ukraine. So, lesson learned for me - never speak Russian to the Ukrainian customs agent! Now, I will forever remember how to say "Good morning" in Ukrainian :)

After crossing into Шегині, I could not stay long, so I just dropped off the bottled water and went immediately back. But before I could fully cross back to Poland, suddenly an alarm had started blaring! Can you imagine? Here you are, stuck in a war zone, and suddenly a siren goes off. My mind was racing - is this a bomb alert? Are missiles going to rain down any second now? Should we just run as fast as I can? For a brief moment, I almost shat brix.

Fortunately, I learned later on that this was not a bomb alert.

On a more serious note - needless to say, I do not recommend crossing the border unless you are mentally prepared that anything can happen to you in a war zone. Just a few days prior, there was a bomb that dropped 50km from the border.

Here are some pictures to illustrate:

On a related note, I should also add that - sadly you will see some people doing sort of a "war tourism" just going to places to take instagram selfies or look good without actual intent on helping refugees. Another thing that I should note is that I try not to share many photos of refugees - these are real human beings, and not "for display". The photos of refugees that I personally took, in which someone's face is clearly visible, I had specifically asked them (in Russian/Ukrainian) if I may please keep the photo. If you reuse my photos, I ask that you please be respectful and treat people like people (needless to say) and be respectful of privacy.

After dropping off the bottled water in carts, I was able to cross back across the border to Poland safely. On the way back, there were a little bit more people, and we ended up helping with luggage for a few of the elderly. Overall, I'd say that it was an interesting experience volunteering at the border. I ended up sorting through donations for a huge portion of the day, because as it had turned out, many (but not all) of the camps here are from already established organizations that have their own people volunteering. However, this is not always the case, as I have met several indie volunteers such as myself, as well as came across this british group making pizza for the Ukrainians.

On my way back to Warsaw, I also stopped by Przemyśl, which also had a train station that was similar to the one set up in Warsaw Central. When I got back to Warsaw, I helped transport some donated clothes to another center, since I had a car.

Overall, the trip to the border was really interesting, but also more exhausting. I didn't interact as much at the border, but it was definitely a good way to scope out the situation there and see where help is most needed. Camping in subzero temperature and not really eating/showering for two days was an interesting experience. Since the situation changes every day, it'll be hard to say what it will be like in the future.

Week 3

The prior week at Central Station, I had also met a volunteer group from UK that matched hosts (with homes) in UK to Ukrainian families that needed housing/accommodations. I ended up helping them setup a website the next day, and we worked on some ways to improve the matching process. It was really amazing to see all sorts of different groups come together all for the same cause - humanitarian aid. During this time, there were significantly less and less Ukrainians coming through the central station. I think by now, it had already been nearly a month of conflict, and most of the people who wanted to come through have probably already come through. At the same time, there were more and more volunteers coming in to help. It is truly amazing to see people from all over the world come together. Outside of Polish and Ukrainian volunteers, I had met several people from France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, UK. I think the majority of non-Polish volunteers were from other parts of Europe. Someone came from Dominican Republic, a couple from Canada/USA, and I even met someone from New Zealand helping. Despite our high language barrier, we all have the same goal and the same smile :)

This week, I also had the chance to volunteer at the Ptak Expo Center as part of a French group. Ptak is where refugees can temporarily stay short term. The facilities were not made for long term stay, but they would have an area to rest. It's at Ptak that they can also catch a bus to a different part of Europe. I volunteered here twice - we helped register the refugees to their final destinations, and help with luggage and food prep for their long journey. It was an 18 hour journey to Belgium, and an even longer one to France! One person from our group also brought coloring books and crayons for little kids that were waiting for the bus. Sometimes, it's these small little things that can make someone's day. I remember distinctly helping this elderly woman who had a mentally disabled child in a wheelchair. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to be crossing the border by foot (in a long line waiting several hours) in subzero weather, while pushing a wheelchair and carrying two heavy bags. She was such an amazing mother too - she made sure to let me know whenever she needed to go to the bathroom, that I should watch over her daughter to make sure everything is fine. Long before the bus came, she asked me several times to make sure that I'd help her carry her daughter on to the bus. In times like these, I'm both saddened but also slightly grateful that I don't speak Ukrainian. If I did speak Ukrainian, I'm pretty sure I'd be crying the entire time. I have so much respect and admiration for our Ukrainian volunteers, because they speak the language and will know all the stories, but are able to do their job without just breaking down.

Pictures from Ptak:

Week 4:

Since there's less and less Ukrainians coming across each day, as well as more and more volunteers arriving, I've decided to shift more from fire-fighting mode (much needed in Feb/March) to longer term planning. I've also returned to the US (as of April 6th, 2022), but will be back in Poland within a week or two. I met with several other volunteers to discuss and brainstorm more on a bigger organizational level how to operate more efficiently, as well as how we can start addressing some of the challenges that will come in the intermediate to long term. For example, now that there are many refugees in Poland (and other countries), how can we help support them to integrate/transition into normal life again.

Now that I've also finally had a chance to gather my thoughts, I have to say that volunteering for Ukraine was truly a life changing experience! In just three weeks, I've met so many people - both Ukrainian refugees as well as volunteers from all over the world. Given how sudden this crisis happened, many existing organizations have not had a chance to organize and respond quickly, from what i've seen "out on the field". It is amazing to just see so many people independently from all around the world offer aid in times of need. I remember at one point in Ptak, a kid asked me what I get out of volunteering. By instinct, I said something to the effect that we don't get anything, but we are all human. He looked at me for a while, smiled and said "good" in English. Hopefully I just inspired him to also become a volunteer for humanitarian aid in the future. It really is truly amazing and fulfilling to be able to serve people in need. Seeing mothers with young children just break down and cry breaks my heart, but then seeing the many nameless volunteers who come together and provide humanitarian aid just restores faith in humanity.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about my volunteering journey. The situation is always changing, and there are a number of critical services that still need to be provided. Hopefully after reading about my volunteering experience, you've been inspired to help in some way, shape or form! I have some ideas on how to best help, now that I've been out there "on the field", but I would love to have a chat with you if you have ideas, or want to help towards the cause! Email is probably best way to reach me: dztian03@gmail.com. There are still many Ukrainians who have been forced to flee and now are facing numerous challenges, and all could use some help. Donations in the form of either time or money is always appreciated!

Thank you for reading.

My thoughts and prayers are with you, Слава Україні!