WILTON — A former colleague sent Sean Lentner a photo when Russia first invaded Ukraine.
The photo showed a young boy stranded at the Romanian border after being separated from his mother during their journey.
Lentner, a Wilton resident and independent tech entrepreneur, called the photo ‘profound’ on Friday as he waited in the town of Siret in northeastern Romania, just across the border Ukrainian, before delivering medical supplies to Kyiv.
Lentner works with the AICDL, a local non-governmental organization.
Late Friday, Lentner and his group received a request from the director of the Department of Health and Rehabilitation of the Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration. The plea for help came in the form of a list of needed medications and supplies, ranging from anesthesia, antibacterial drugs, anticonvulsants and medical dressings such as bandages and disposable masks.
He said the plan was to travel on Saturday far into the place most are advised to avoid: the “red zone”.
“We’re going to have a convoy going very, very deep into the red zone on the outskirts of Kyiv tomorrow,” Lentner said Friday ahead of a more than six-hour trip. “Normal drivers who go to this area don’t go that far. But one hospital specifically asked us to bring medical supplies because they really needed them.”
Lentner said he plans to make a few more calls to assess the risk before making the trip as his group waits for medical supplies to be brought to Siret.
“None,” Lentner said with a cold, cold tone when asked if he harbored any fears as he prepared for the risky mission. “That’s not how I operate. It’s not about me. These are the people who are suffering. »
“The purpose of this trip,” Lentner said, is “to help mothers and children.” And that’s exactly what Lentner has been doing since arriving in Romania on March 7.
In a previous job, Lentner ran a department at a Romania-based call center, where he befriended the former facilities manager. The former colleague sent him the photo of the stranded boy which, together with his general connection to the region of his work, spurred Lentner to do something more.
Since arriving in Romania and throughout the week, Lentner has been helping refugees move away from conflict and helping them prepare for a new start.
Lentner said he has helped families make the necessary adjustments for this new life – whether that means staying in Romania and getting the children settled in a new school and situation, fleeing to another country or, for some , the desire to eventually return to their home in Ukraine.
A woman traveling with Lentner and her group not only needed help transporting her son and cat, but needed a quick solution to a serious medical problem – she was traveling while battling cancer from stage 4 and could not stay in Romania where his insurance did not. cover the cost of their treatment.
“Her goal was to travel to France where her insurance would cover her medical expenses, but the challenge was that she couldn’t fly because she had a cat,” Lentner said.
He and his group managed to send the woman on a train to Milan, Italy, where a group of his friends picked her up and drove her across the border to France. A few days ago, she sent a thank you note to the band and to Lentner for their help.
The long-time entrepreneur told himself that his best asset in helping refugees was to think critically on the fly.
Around midnight Thursday, Lentner said he received a call from someone stranded with three refugee families they were helping transport. The caller had seen a newscast with Lentner’s name on it. Now the man was sitting on a train platform with three families and nowhere to go. On a whim, Lentner was able to quickly find accommodation for the family for the night.
“Within 15 minutes, I found an Airbnb and the owner was super cool to let all these families sleep in this three-bedroom, one-story apartment,” he said.
As Lentner leaves on Monday, he has no specific goals but to help as many people as possible before returning to the United States.
His days of helping are far from over, however. He plans to keep in touch with those in the area and hopes to set up something “more sustainable” for refugee families.
“I think probably the hardest thing is just the emotions of seeing what’s happening to these refugees,” Lentner said. “I’m not afraid for myself. I fear for the people who are in Kiev, or elsewhere in Ukraine, and they don’t know that there is a resource, or a lot of resources, that can help them.
At home in Wilton, Lentner’s wife, Katherine, runs a online fundraising campaign contribute to the costs of the humanitarian mission. As of Friday, the campaign has raised over $25,000.
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