Retired West Michigan teacher spends 6 weeks in Ukraine

A retired school teacher recently spent six weeks volunteering in Ukraine and is now working to share his story with the West Michigan community.

Bob Wood, of Muskegon, says he flew to Ukraine with little planned direction, but came back with mounds of experiences and firsthand knowledge of the war-torn country.

“The fact that I had my feet on the ground was important to Ukrainians,” he said. “It was so inspirational. I met so many people. I learned so much. The whole point was to be of use.”

First flying into Poland and visiting a friend in Italy, then arriving in Ukraine, Wood said he volunteered at a warehouse where he and others were “stuffing IFAKs” — individual first aid kits — for those on the frontlines of the war.

Wood explained that while the war is only affecting certain areas of Ukraine physically, it is affecting all Ukrainians mentally.

“People have relatives that were in the East, or they themselves were relocated into the East,” he said. “And so their lives, while they may not look complicated on the outside, inside — of your head, and your worries and such — it is serious.”

With a lot of men fighting in the war, Wood said a lot of the aid operations, like the warehouse he worked in, are led by women.

“There’s a hell of a lot of women that are in the driver’s seat,” he said. “With so many men fighting, it seems like a lot of these little hubs of activity are being run by gals. There’s a real strong woman’s presence.”

As he made connections with locals, through his existing American and European connections (friends, colleagues and former foreign exchange students), Wood was able to have unique and specific conversations with Ukrainians, and has shared those on Facebook and YouTube. Through these conversations, Wood says he learned more about the facts of what’s going on, without the political filter that Americans tend to hear through about the war.

“I was sending out requests for questions from Americans on Facebook (and) I got 3,035 questions,” he said.

Wood was guest lecturing at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv.

“The (college students) really wanted to answer the questions,” he said. “And so on that last Friday, we set up the tripod and they did videos. The question that they chose in England — which was a great lesson for them and their spontaneity and their honesty — is so relevant inside of their answers that I think that it has been a really good outcome of this trip.”

All of Wood’s videos can be found on his YouTube channel, @bobwoodmsu1980.

Attack warnings

In major Ukrainian cities, many citizens use a phone app where they can get some kind of warning if there is going to be a Russian attack.

“Right next to the university is a military barracks, which is a target for Russian missiles,” Wood said. “And so what happens whenever you have an alert is the barracks empty all of the soldiers to this park, and there’s all the soldiers in their khakis walking around and smoking cigarettes and killing time because they get into the park where they’re safe.

“They’re babies, there’s so many young faces on these soldiers,” he said, somberly. “They’re just so young, and then mixed in are all these old guys that you wouldn’t see in any normal military. And so then your next thought is, you get so angry, because these are people that are going to die. And it’s not necessary.”

Wood, who held class at the bomb shelter one day, saw how it’s an everyday occurrence now for students to be taking cover multiple times.

“Depending on how you react to this stuff, it could easily be damaging for you, even in a place that has had no civilian casualties like Lviv,” he added.

In some places, children are left orphans after their parents were killed in a bombing. Some people have lost their homes, lost family members and so much more.

“You just never know what’s going on behind someone’s eyes,” Wood said, “and who they lost and who died and who’s still in danger.”

No other option

What is the attitude of most Ukrainians about the war? They don’t see any other option, Wood said.

“We will win,” said Anna, a student at Ukrainian Catholic University, with a smile. “I don’t even have to question it.”

While they are confident Ukraine will win the war, they are not lost on the damage it has already caused and will continue to do to the nation.

“After this war, we will need to build out our cities to protect ourselves from another attack, which is possible,” said Sofia, another student at Ukrainian Catholic University. “I think we will win, we’ll be really happy and we’ll need more money to rebuild all of this, but I think we’ll be really boosted in energy, and we’ll want to live better.”

Wood is sharing his stories, photos and videos from Ukraine at some upcoming events: 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9, at Loutit District Library, 407 Columbus Ave., Grand Haven; and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, at Spring Lake District Library, 123 E. Exchange St.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Retired Michigan teacher spends 6 weeks in Ukraine