Utah and Idaho group steps up efforts in Poland to help Ukrainian refugees

SALT LAKE CITY – A volunteer group from Utah and Idaho helping Ukrainian refugees in Poland said it was preparing for a huge increase in numbers this week.

They’re getting even more on-court help from Beehive State as they prepare for what’s to come.

At midnight, while most were asleep, a van shone headlights on a quiet, isolated road in the Polish countryside.

In the back of this van, three Ukrainian refugees – a brother, a sister and his sister’s child – dozed off, enjoying the peace and rest. They finally crossed the border from Ukraine to Medyka, Poland, late Sunday evening.

As the bus service stopped for the night, they found a private van offering to take them to Krakow two and a half hours away.

Brett Hilton sat behind the wheel, with his wife Bonnie sitting behind the front passenger seat. The couple had just arrived from South Jordan, Utah, a few days earlier.

“They kind of felt inspired to come and help us, and we invited them to join our team. And they offered to be able to take the lead,” explained Rob Sturgill, who was sitting in the front passenger seat next to Brett.

Sturgill, originally from Idaho, has helped transport refugees from Medyka to Krakow and other parts of Poland over the past week.

He and his brother Lehi are part of Type of Wooden Charities.

The group arrived in Poland and rented vans to drive refugees. They also buy suitcases for people to store their things.

Sturgill said many refugees arrive with their belongings in plastic grocery bags.

While the past few days have seen a lull, he explained, they expect a huge week ahead in Medyka.

“There’s kind of a feeling out there right now for most people that there’s going to be a big flood here, probably next week,” he said.

Part of that, Sturgill said, has to do with what is happening in Ukraine’s largest city near Medyka.

“We are hosting quite a few refugees in Lviv, which is only a few hours from the border, and there have been a handful of bombings there in the past week,” Sturgill said. “So there are fears that this area could become even more dangerous.”

Sturgill said he bonded in Medyka with volunteers who found families for them to transport. Sometimes they take them to small villages to stay with host families. Other times they will drive them to Krakow train station as families take the next step in their journey.

But many women and children fleeing the country don’t have an end point in mind, Sturgill said. They just had to leave Ukraine.

Thanks to donations from colleagues, Sturgill is able to purchase hotel rooms for these families to stay a night or two, so they can shower, sleep and have a hot breakfast while getting ready for the following.

Originally, Sturgill planned to return home on Sunday.

Instead, Monday morning, as he approached 1 a.m., he was in the middle of another two-and-a-half-hour hike from Medyka to Krakow.

“What’s happening here is a bit overwhelming,” Sturgill said. “And I think we’ve realized that we need to spend a bit more time training the next group that’s coming in to prepare.”

He now has the help of Brett and Bonnie Hilton, with more volunteers arriving this week. They are ready to welcome this next wave.

“We introduced them to our contacts at each site and walked them through basically all of our procedures and processes that we have in place,” Sturgill said. “To ensure that if the floodgates open, we are ready and able to track every refugee that is in our hands.”

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