Western grad delivers relief aid to Ukraine

Jun. 8—The sight was both beautiful and sad.

In late February, David and Felicia Lee and their four children were hosting a family for a day in Brasov, Romania.

This was nothing new.

As missionaries for Faith Global Missions, the 2000 Western Reserve graduate and his family moved to Braov 13 years ago to work with street children. They've assisted hundreds of foster children and adoptive families to connect with each other.

But on this particular evening, the Lees were hosting a family that was just passing through for unfortunate reasons.

"They were a family with a baby that was six days old," David Lee said. "Born a little premature in the early days of the war. There was a lot of stress from leaving."

On May 24, Russia's invasion of Ukraine reached the 90-day mark. Romania borders Ukraine to the southwest by land. The land-locked Republic of Moldova is sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, both of which are bordered by the Black Sea.

Those geopolitical boundaries have led to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing their country for safety in Romania. And it's the faces of families, more so than the war's physical destruction, that has made a profound impact on Lee.

The family with the less-than-week-old baby was emblematic of both the beauty of life and the fallout of war — so much of which the Lees have seen in just 115 days.

"One of the first that stayed with us was a family of 12," he said. "You could see in their faces the fragile state they were in, not knowing what to do or what the future holds."

The father of the family was milking cows on their large farm at about 4 a.m. on Feb. 24 near Odesa when the invasion began.

"He heard the planes and could see the flashes of lights in the distance and knew what it was," Lee said. "He went in the house and told everyone to pack up because they were leaving."

The man finished his chores, made sure his animals were taken care of — and then the family headed toward Romania.

"He had two young sons, and he didn't want them to get involved in the fight," Lee said. "When he was here, he wanted to show me pictures of his farm."

The photo collection included all the family's beehives along with videos of him and his boys working in the fields. The youngest children were close by eating honey and laughing.

"At that point, I started crying ... because he's never going to get that again, you know?" Lee said. "He's never going to build that up again, most likely.

"A lot of these people don't want to leave Ukraine," he added. "They want to remain, but it's not safe. A lot of men are also staying and choosing to fight. Families are being uprooted and separated. That's the most tragic thing I've seen out of this."

The impact of refugees in the early days of the war led Lee down a different path. On May 28, he made his sixth trip from Romania into Ukraine to deliver relief supplies for those who stayed to fight.

Ferrying gas masks, bandages, generators and tourniquets among the many items, Lee has traveled to Odesa and other places near the siege. He was in Odesa on the same day Russian troops fired seven missiles on the port city in an effort to disrupt supply lines and weapons shipments.

Ukrainian towns are a long, long way from growing up on Peru-Olena Road, just south of Norwalk.

"The only time that I was really at risk was that trip to Odesa — and I was," Lee said. "Statistically, the bigger risk is probably the long drive. I didn't see the smoke or fire, but the sirens were going off.

"We hurried from there, so we didn't have to shelter. Because if you do that, you could be there a long time. We wanted to get in and get out. The doctor I handed items to said they were going to eight surgeons, so it was worth it. We got them a lot of good stuff on that trip."

During his Odesa stop, Lee was at a military base and talking to a commander when they all saw a missile flying.

"The commander stopped and asked another soldier if it was one of theirs," Lee said. "Then a guy took off running toward a building. Then a door opens up and he comes out with his hands up to calm down and confirm it was one of their own missiles. Then the commander just went back to our conversation."

Well aware his life is potentially at risk, Lee left a small note before that particular trip to his wife, twin boys Mark and Seth, age 13, and daughters Olivia, 9, and Abigail, 3.

Just in case.

"It was just a small message to say don't live your life wondering what would I say or do," he said. "You have everything you need, live your life and be happy, and know I'm proud of you."

Early beginnings

At Western Reserve, Lee was class president. After graduation, he was interested in traveling and found a theological school, Word of Life Bible Institute, in Hungary. During his studies there, many of his classmates and friends were Romanians. He eventually moved to Romania, where he met Felicia — and saw many street children.

"This was back in 2002, and when I was at the train station, it was full of runaway kids," Lee said.

"We originally hoped to build a boys' farm for street children, but then we pivoted to foster care and adoption."

David and Felicia first lived in the capital, Bucharest, before settling in Brasov, which is in mountainous central Romania and relatively convenient for those who want to adopt a child through the Lees.

The couple has a website, romaniankids.org. They assist in many ways, including training state-employed foster parents, couples counseling, support groups for adopted children, therapy and tutoring, as well as a large camp for adoptive families.

According to the website, through its counseling, training and support, the Lee family has helped more than 275 adoptive families — and counting.

But in February, the mission of the nonprofit shifted.

New direction

In early February, an American family came to live with the Lees.

Todd Gallagher and his wife, Vera, also have nearby roots. Todd grew up near Pittsburgh and went to Ohio State University. The couple was living in Vinnytsya, in west-central Ukraine, when the U.S. embassy strongly recommended they leave.

Before the Gallaghers left, they bought pallets of food and stored them in their basement. When the artillery shelling began on Feb. 24, people from Todd's missionary church were injured.

The Russians had bombed a military base near their house and church.

"All these people with cuts and scrapes just started walking toward Todd's house," Lee said. "It was kind of like the meeting point, even though Todd wasn't there. There were 29 people sleeping in his house for the first week.

"So with them here with us at the time, it was a no-brainer to get involved."

They began by getting relief supplies to immediate friends of the Gallagher family in Vinnytsya. Then their efforts expanded to help for the military.

"One of Todd's friends, the bombings happened on a Thursday (and) by Saturday he was signed up. They gave him a rifle, a few hours of instruction and he was out patrolling," Lee said. "By the following Tuesday, he and others were in a firefight with Russian soldiers."

Lee said Vinnytsya hasn't had a lot of heavy fighting. The city's TV transmission towers, airstrips and airports have been hit by artillery shells.

"But the people who lived near those places have tried to move out to the countryside or leave," Lee said. "Quite a few have left."

On June 1, the United Nations reported that an estimated 14-plus million people have fled their homes since the invasion began. At least 6 million have fled to neighboring countries with an estimated 587,219 in Romania. A total of 283,475 have since returned to Ukraine, according to U.N. data.

Through Lee's website and other connections, he and Gallagher, with others, have filled semi-truck trailers full of relief aid.

In addition to gas masks, bandages, generators and tourniquets, they've gathered and transported stretchers, protective gear, diapers, t-shirts, pillows, sheets and blankets and sheets.

To help prepare and serve the tons of food, meat slicers, grinders, silverware and other kitchen essentials have also been sent.

Looking ahead

With no end in sight for the war, Lee anticipates many more trips to Ukraine. The general mood in Romania has improved from the initial shock and fear of the war's first few weeks, he noted.

"It's calmed down, but originally, the reaction to the attacks was much like 9/11 in America," he said. "It was a breaking of, 'OK, it can happen here.' It was a realization that we have not moved on from the period of war."

Lee said the first month was stressful, with very little sleep as the family put together to-go bags of essentials. They also printed maps to be able to get to two different locations, either south to Bulgaria or west to Hungary.

"But just like anything else, you get used to things," he said. "But as far as fear here, the biggest thing is they don't want it to expand."

Romania is part of North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which includes most of Europe. If NATO takes further steps beyond its current aid and sanctions efforts, then Romania is involved.

"I don't know if Russia would do the same thing here as far as attempting to bomb right away, but we do live between an airport and a military base," Lee said. "So if anything would happen, we're not far from potential targets."

During the last three-plus months, Romanians have really stepped up, which is positive and helpful, Lee said. Historically, Romania has been on the receiving end of relief aid.

"This is the first time I've really seen us giving aid to this scale," he said. "We parked a semi-truck at a mall and people filled it up with things they bought and donated, and we sent it. Seeing Romanians giving up their houses, letting people stay in extra rooms, donating food and money, that's been a good thing.

"Seeing the camaraderie and shoulder-to-shoulder feeling ... the lives of 40 million have been turned upside down because of the sins of a few," Lee added. "The Russians have been the big, bad bully in this part of the world for a hundred years. People here, they are definitely for the Ukrainians."

In Ohio, Lee's father, Brad, still lives in Fitchville; his brother, Dennis, lives in Dublin and his sister, Danielle, lives in the Akron-Canton area. He also has three uncles and many cousins living in the Norwalk area.

But on Memorial Day, David Lee spent the U.S. holiday — more meaningful to him, given the circumstances — driving back from yet another trip to Ukraine, this time to Vinnytsya.

Asked why he's risked driving there, now a half-dozen times and counting, he said it's a question with many layers.

"We live in a fallen world with suffering," Lee said. "Love is what matters. Life is much more. It's going to sound cliche, but you can walk away from everything. You can die or lose your family members.

"But as you consider death and frailty, it's not even the physical presence or well-being. It's the love that you have for others that is the most important thing."