Here & Now

Providing Power to Ukraine in the Dark and Cold of Winter

Frederica Freyberg:

More than a year since the Russian military invaded Ukraine, relief efforts remain high. “Here & Now” student journalist Aditi Debnath has this story of a Wisconsin Rotary Club helping to power homes during the Ukrainian winter.

Anya Verkhovskaya:

My partners at that time told me what I’m doing is insane, but it’s going to save thousands of lives, and it’s only money, and we’ll figure it out.

Aditi Debnath:

Risking her retirement savings, Anya Verkhovskaya ordered just under $1 million worth of portable power generators to be sent to Ukraine in preparation for the winter months ahead.

Anya Verkhovskaya:

I’ve never ordered 1100 generators before. Actually, a few months ago, I didn’t even know how to start a generator, and I didn’t know anything about generators.

Aditi Debnath:

She then met Dr. Doug Davis, who had a similar mission. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago, Dr. Davis has shipped an estimated 100,000 pounds of medical aid from a warehouse in Germantown.

Doug Davis:

We had probably 50 gaylord boxes of supplies that we were having trouble getting shipped. And she’s like, I could take care of that.

Aditi Debnath:

Dr. Davis, whose family is Ukrainian, evacuated his in-laws last February to his home in Oregon, Wisconsin. His brother-in-law, Dr. Taras Khaba, has been able to use his medical connections in Ukraine to help determine high-need items.

Taras Khaba:

I didn’t feel very well at that time and he told me I know how to help you, how to help your country, and that’s to become volunteers.

Aditi Debnath:

But Davis and Khaba didn’t do it alone. The Rotary Club of Milwaukee has provided countless volunteers toward the cause, and in January, the group was able to fundraise for Verkhosvkaya’s generator project.

Dave Anderson:

We like to think of ourselves as people of action who work together to really make a difference, not only in their communities, but communities throughout the world.

Aditi Debnath:

This February, Dr. Davis traveled to Ukraine, where he and the Rotary Club of Ukraine took delivery of the first generators to arrive. Amid air raid sirens and catching up with family, he says witnessing the payoff is what keeps him going.

Doug Davis:

I think learning about all that may have even been harder than medical school.

Aditi Debnath:

Back in Wisconsin, volunteers don’t have time to celebrate the generator project’s success.

Anya Verkhovskaya:

And you can’t really celebrate any small victories or big victories because there is this tremendous cloud of collective tragedy that is happening that you are trying to fight all the time.

Aditi Debnath:

Though donations may be slowing down, the crisis level need for humanitarian aid in Ukraine persists, now one long year after the invasion.

Doug Davis:

If people think this is just some country in eastern Europe, no, this is World War III.

Aditi Debnath:

For “Here & Now,” I’m Aditi Debnath in Germantown.