Dr. John Kahler has seen something like what is happening in Ukraine before and is worried about what could come next.
Kahler, a pediatrician who lives in Palos Park, traveled to Aleppo in 2016 in the midst of a Syrian crisis to offer humanitarian aid. There, he said he got a taste of the Russian playbook, “surround, bomb, isolate and starve,” in that country’s support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“They’ve never shown compunction for killing civilians, for leveling a town,” Kahler said.
Kahler and Dr. Zaher Sahloul, of Burr Ridge, co-founders of the Chicago Ridge-based humanitarian nongovernmental organization MedGlobal in 2017, were set to leave Wednesday for a trip with a group of 10 to Poland, Moldova and Ukraine. There, physicians, nurses and others plan to do a needs assessment and deliver 90 “well-stocked bags” full of medical and surgical supplies.
Chicago-area residents donated more than $500,000 in supplies to MedGlobal’s effort. Kahler said while most large relief organizations are focusing on the areas being attacked, regions accepting refugees, such as Moldova and Romania, are bereft of supplies.
While most of the team plans to leave the area after four or five days, Kahler will spend two to three weeks touring municipal hospitals in places such as Lviv, a western Ukrainian city through which supplies enter and refugees flee to Poland, doing a needs assessment for the pediatric refugees he can serve on subsequent trips. He will also advocate for the regional needs back home.
Kahler is no stranger to the horrors of war. MedGlobal was one of the first medical organizations to visit Bangladesh during the Rohingya crisis. He has worked in camps in Greece, Lebanon and Venezuela. Still, every situation is unique and he does not know exactly what he will encounter near Ukraine.
“What we’ll see at the border now is still fog of war, immediate shock and dismay,” Kahler said. “I anticipate a lot of blank stares.”
For Kahler, a pediatrician with 12 grandchildren of his own, it is particularly difficult to witness women and children being displaced.
“It just tears me apart,” Kahler said. “It’s just absolutely devastating. … They will eventually find themselves somewhere, but it won’t be home and it’ll be a new start when they never even thought they needed to.”
Kahler said a crisis zone can be depressing for all involved. But in the later stages of his life, he has found himself driven back to these areas.
“I can give money, of course, but in some part of my heart you need to be there to lay hands on,” he said. “As harrowing as the pictures you see on CNN are, to be there in the midst of this and feel the emotional chaos is something that I really can’t describe.”
Community response
Kahler is not alone in his support of Ukraine. Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Church in Palos Park is collecting and packing supplies for people still in or fleeing Ukraine. It sent a 2,800-pound shipment and this week is preparing another 7,000 pounds worth of supplies, said the Rev. Vasyl Sendeha.
Sendeha said many villages in Ukraine are self-sustained, but the cities need support as they have been under siege by Russian troops. At first, the focus was hygiene products and items needed by children, but it has shifted to medical supplies, which Sendeha said have become scarce.
Ukrainian shipping companies were sending the supplies for free, but some have become overwhelmed by the costs and logistics, Sendeha explained. Truck drivers in Ukraine are also putting themselves at risk to find alternate routes into cities surrounded by Russian troops.
“It’s not easy and it’s not cheap to send things,” Sendeha said.
The church received help from parishioner George Cepynsky, who is the CEO of Precision Circuits Inc. in Downers Grove. Employees there have helped purchase, pack and sort donations for shipping to Eastern Europe.
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“He’s done a lot of work trying to deliver the goods to people in need, and he continues to do so,” Sendeha said. “As long as there is a need, as long as there is a war, he is willing to do it. We are very grateful to him.”
Cepynsky was born in the United States but his parents came from Ukraine. He still has 32 members of his family there, and he knows all too well the toll this is taking.
“I’m seeing pictures of places I’ve been to in Ukraine. I’m talking to my family there who are surrounded by Russian troops,” Cepynsky said. “Bombs are going off over their heads. Bullets are flying over their heads constantly. They are surrounded and can’t get out.”
Cepynsky said the logistics of shipping supplies is overwhelming and he wishes they had more support from government and other organizations. But he is equally overwhelmed by the support of average Americans. His dock door continues ringing with people looking to drop off supplies. Twenty-eight people volunteered Sunday to pack boxes.
“It’s so wonderful,” Cepynsky said. “Half of them aren’t Ukrainian — just heard we were doing stuff coming over to help. It is unbelievable.”
Tinley Park’s St. Julie Billiart Catholic Church also lent the drive a helping hand. The church collected supplies Wednesday for the Palos Park church. Deacon Ed Pluchar said a parishioner pitched the idea and it took off by Saturday. As of Tuesday, the church collected enough items to cover roughly 20 tables.
“I’ve never seen so much stuff in our parish hall,” Pluchar said. “It’s been coming in all day the last two days.”
Pluchar said he received a lot of calls from people outside of the parish, asking how they can help. Some people have shipped donations to the church, while others took them directly to collection sites in Chicago. People also have been writing cards to Ukrainian recipients.
“Any time there is a need, they do show up,” Pluchar said. “I’m just very encouraged by the overwhelming support on short notice.”
Pluchar said there was a tight turnaround to meet the deadline for Saints Peter and Paul’s next shipment. But the Tinley Park parish plans to forward any late donations to another collection site.
Saints Peter and Paul also held a pierogi sale last week to raise relief funds.
“People were coming from everywhere,” Sendeha said. “We ran out of food very fast, but they kept coming. They just wanted to talk, to hug our people and to tell them that they stand with us.”
Sendeha said people are also praying at the church as they learn more about the Orthodox branch of Christianity.
“They want to do something. They want to volunteer,” he said. “They just feel a relief by working physically and spending time with one another while they do something for Ukraine.”
Franciscan Health in Olympia Fields contributed to more than 100,000 pounds of medical supplies sent to Ukraine by the medical group, working with the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America. That effort started just a week ago at Franciscan Health Dyer but quickly grew across the Franciscan group, including Chicago’s south suburbs, according to a news release. The shipments also included prayer cards from the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, Franciscan staff and others.
How to help
Kahler recommends those looking to support Ukrainians find local relief agencies. The Red Cross is a great start, he said. MedGlobal is also taking support and will have direct contacts after this trip. The organization will collect items such as powdered infant formula and diapers, as well as monetary donations. For more information, go to medglobal.org.
People also can donate to the Ukrainian Medical Association online at umana.org or deliver medical supplies (orthopedics, wound care, surgery supplies) directly to its warehouse in Bensenville. Contact Dr. Mariya Dmytriv-Kapeniak at 773-858-7639 or Olga Maihutiak 630-632-9307 for logistics.
Saints Peter and Paul church is still accepting donations in its ongoing effort to support Ukraine. The church’s Facebook page is regularly updated with the latest needs. Several organizations have noted clothes are not needed at this time.
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.