Ray of hope for Ukraine
UKRAINE is on its second year of war. Food Network’s Rachael Ray is on her fourth trip to Ukraine.
“Being that I’m up 4 every morning at home, I’ve watched too much news. Seeing grandmothers take up arms and build Molotov cocktails in their backyard was just too much for me.
“So it’s the nonprofit Ukraine Friends and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America who bring to that country the ambulances, thousands of laptops, short-term housing and are the ones coordinating my safety, logistics and protection while I’m in their territory.
“Day and night they are there each time a siren goes off and while people live through it. They watch in horror as friends and family get killed right in front of them.
“I bring a laundry list of things whenever I go. So the Ukrainians can survive, I help mothers rebuild kitchens destroyed by artillery. I cook with kids at orphanages, shelters, and I visit hospitals. My husband even made food for thousands of people one day who were displaced from the front lines. And we bring critical supplies like IFAKS, individual first aid kits.
“The route is fly to Italy, then it’s go to Poland. Then drive. Long journey. It’s many hours. You cross two borders and pass many controls.
“Everything’s in box trucks. We are given special passes which get us from one point to another. It’s all safe houses. Stops are only where people train for the front lines. And I stay near Lviv.
“Everyone’s in camouflage. We eat in traffic stops. But you cannot erase those images from your head. You only want to stand by them. And be with them.”