EDITOR’S NOTE: Ukrainian Viktoriya Magid, Ph.D., a Mount Pleasant psychologist, has been involved for three weeks with several Charleston residents who feel the injustice and the urgent need to help Ukrainians who are fighting for sovereignty and freedom.
Overseas Ukrainians have been uplifted by the continued support of Charleston residents during the ongoing Russian invasion. Here are some of the stories of people and local organizers who gave what they could to support Ukrainians in need, as well as testimonies of Ukrainians who felt that support.
Some of the many helpers
Drew Friedman is the son of Donna and Randy Friedman, a local family who have supported humanitarian and advocacy efforts in Ukraine. Last week, Drew hosted his fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta at the University of Wisconsin. Their donations made it possible to buy a large box of medicines which will be distributed in the occupied city of Kherson.
“We were so inspired by the courage and unity shown by the Ukrainian people,” said Drew Friedman. “Their reluctance to renounce oppression, their relentless fight to protect their home sends a powerful message.”
In West Ashley, Euro Foods Bakery and Café, with its owners Maka Aptsiauri and her husband Aleksandr Pavlichenko, has been actively supporting Ukraine since the crisis began.
“A lot of my relatives are in Ukraine,” Pavlichenko said. “Many helped their wives and children out and then went back to fighting.” Pavlichenko’s uncle and cousins fight near kyiv, Bucha and Kharkiv.
“We are grateful to our amazing team,” said Aptsiauri. “The non-profit organization West Ashley Connect with its president Teresa Tidestrom as well as volunteers Roman Pekar, Oleg Kulik and Anna Spann. With their help, as well as donations from many locals, we were able to organize a truckload of supplies and humanitarian aid to be delivered to Lviv by air.
- Euro Foods will then organize donations of medical supplies. For assistance, call (843) 303-4065.
Water Mission of Charleston has initiated direct humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
“Our teams are expanding our Ukrainian border assistance work into Poland and Romania, helping refugees,” said Gregg Dinino, the public relations director. “Among other efforts, the first wave of the expedition includes four of our water treatment systems capable of meeting the daily water needs of 20,000 people. We are also sending 24,000 water purification packets and other supplies in the same shipment. »
- Join the Water Mission Walk for Water in North Charleston on March 26 or donate in another way at watermission.org.
James Island’s Baguette Magic Bakery also announced a program called “Knishes for Kyiv”. These delicious potato pastries are a Ukrainian staple. All profits will be donated directly to of New Ukraine humanitarian relief efforts. To date, the bakery has raised over $1,000.
TastemakersCHS also launched the CHS Restaurants for Ukraine campaign, inspired by Ukrainian chef Yevgen Zhlopotenko. He has turned his restaurant into a bomb shelter and is busy feeding the Ukrainian army and teaching Ukrainians what they can cook with the limited goods they have.
Individual donors include Jonathan DiOrio, a local entrepreneur who contributed $1,500 towards the purchase of body armor for Ukrainian soldiers.
“The Ukrainian people and their president embody courage – to choose the idea of freedom and pay in blood,” he said. “This feeling is akin to our founding fathers and reminds me of the stories of my grandfather – who fought Hitler in World War II.”
Jackie Scarafile and her husband Matt are local realtors who donated $1,000 for the cause.
“It is so important to immediately get funds for Ukraine,” said. “It doesn’t matter where you stand politically. What is happening in Ukraine is wrong. This must be stopped.
MUSC professor and psychologist Dr. Sudie Back and her husband Steve Caskie donated to UNICEF, United Help Ukraine, Inc. – a non-profit organization that provides food and medical supplies to those affected . They also booked a stay in Kyiv through Airbnb and told the owners they weren’t coming and to please keep the money. “This is about freedom and democracy for all of us,” Sudie said. “If Ukraine loses, we all lose.”
- Go to unicef.org donate and airbnb.com to book a stay in Ukraine — the profits go directly to the owners.
Who is helped
(Note: surnames have been omitted to protect those quoted.)
In Ukraine, grassroots efforts are making a difference every day. With the help of Charleston’s DiOrio and others, a platoon of 11 soldiers under the command of high school friend Dimitri was able to acquire body armor for each soldier at $650 each.
In Kherson, currently occupied by Russian troops, the humanitarian situation is disastrous. A local volunteer, Irina works tirelessly to use foreign and local donations to buy medicine from closed pharmacies and distribute it to hospitals and crisis centres.
“A few pharmacies were open today,” she said. “But no one was ready to go out and work under this regime. We are completely cut off from any supply chain and many people with epilepsy, asthma, Parkinson’s disease (and) diabetes need medication on a daily basis.
Financial support from Charleston residents allowed Irina to buy medicine from closed pharmacies and distribute it directly to people in need.
Vladislav served in the Ukrainian army for 13 years and received the title “Hero of Ukraine”. He is currently fighting near Kharkiv, where the bombardments are almost uninterrupted. Vladislov was able to buy food, personal hygiene products, socks and underwear, as well as 100 warm face coverings for his battalion.
“Victory is ours!” he said. “Thank you for your help, it was such a big help! Every penny went to help my battalion.
- To help Dimitri, Irina and Vladislav directly, contact Viktoriya at [email protected] or email Venmo at @vmpsych.
Viktoriya Magid, Ph.D is a licensed psychologist specializing in addiction, anxiety, depression, life transitions and self-actualization from her office in Mount Pleasant.
Photos provided for publication courtesy of Viktoria Magid, courtesy of Vladislav, Irina and Dimitri.
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