London, Ont. woman shares experience of Canadian Red Cross’s Ukraine efforts

A London, Ont., woman working with the Canadian Red Cross is sharing her experience with refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine and is offering advice for Canadians looking to help.

The Canadian Red Cross is in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries to offer support to people fleeing the violent Russian invasion. Kathy Mueller, senior communications advisor, left London on March 3 for Budapest, Hungary, where she is helping with relief efforts.

“The call came out through the Canadian Red Cross last week asking who wanted to go to help and support this response and I didn’t hesitate,” she told Global News.

“There are eight countries at least that are impacted by this — of course, Ukraine being the most impacted. And there’s a massive co-ordination effort, a massive logistical effort to make sure that the aid is getting to the people who need it.”

Mueller said four to five trains packed with people arrive at the border every day, with most passengers having left almost all their possessions behind in Ukraine.

“They’re coming across just carrying what they can. So for a child, it’s a stuffed teddy bear, right, their most prized possession. And for parents, it’s more of the practical matters. They’re making sure they’re bringing warm clothing and papers so that they can easily get across from the border.”

She said she met a man who came to Ukraine from Nigeria six years ago as a student and ended up staying. He is now a permanent resident and has a family in Ukraine but they decided it was time to leave on Monday.

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“His family decided on Monday that the bombing was getting too close to their home. They live in a city called Sumy, and everything was shaking, he said, when the bombs would go off,” she said.

“He was afraid that the tall apartment building that’s beside his apartment building was going to collapse on them. He talked about how the bombs were his alarm clock, that he was sleeping with one eye open.”

People may want to donate physical items to the relief effort but Mueller said financial contributions are the best way to help as it allows the Red Cross to buy exactly what people need on the ground.

“They need food, water, shelter, health care, medicine, proper hygiene, all of that. The basics that we often take for granted, they need now and in the months and years to come,” she said.

“People are very well-meaning and they have all these donations gathered of clothes and blankets and shoes, etc., that they want to ship over (but) there’s a lot of cost involved in that.”

The Canadian government has pledged to match donations to the Canadian Red Cross up to $30 million.

— with files from Global News’ Jess Brady