Jan 30, 2023 | Community | 0
By Gretchen Webster
Two brothers from Westport have devoted themselves over the past year to helping Ukrainians cope with the ravages of war.
But they’re not just collecting money or supplies to send to the besieged nation in eastern Europe. They live there many weeks at a time, traveling back and forth from the U.S. to Ukraine to help civilians there survive Russian attacks and, where possible, rebuild their cities.
Brian Mayer 34, and Marshall Mayer, 32, founded Ukraine Aid International last April, and since then the organization has delivered more than 500,000 kilos of humanitarian aid in over 500 separate missions to help Ukrainians; supplied more than 100,000 Ukrainians with daily infrastructural support (water, heat, internet and electricity services), and supported civilians in over 100 communities on or near the front lines of the conflict.
And they risk their own lives to do it.
“Yes, there is risk in what we do, especially since we spend time near the front lines,” Brian said in a recent interview, via Zoom.
But the Mayers invest heavily in safety equipment and medical equipment to prep for emergency situations. “We do everything we can do to protect ourselves and our teams,” he said.
“It’s certainly unsafe, you’re kind of constantly watching the skies — when you’re close to the front lines — you can hear the artillery,” Marshall added.
But the brothers focus on those they are helping more than the risks they face.
“We were raised to help others — our family really values helping others,” said Marshall, who spent two years in the Philippines after he graduated from Staples High School, helping hurricane victims with to rebuild homes and train for jobs to get back on their feet.
The brothers’ interest in Ukraine has roots in their Ukrainian ancestry, including their mother’s grandfather, and because they both previously spent time there for business and pleasure.
“We just fell in love with the country,” Brian said. “When the war first broke out we connected with our friends and colleagues.”
After Russia launched its attacks last February, the Mayers learned about friends who needed to be rescued from a dangerous area, or someone who had a friend or relative needing hygiene supplies or medical equipment. They started building a volunteer team, which now consists of more than 20 volunteers.
And over the course of the past year, the Westport brothers started building a connection between their hometown and their adopted Ukrainian city — Lyman — which was proclaimed a sister city of Westport by First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker.
On Jan. 11, the proclamation day, a Westport flag designed by local artist Miggs Burroughs was presented to Lyman Mayor Alexander Zuravlov, and Police Chief Ihor Ugnyvenko in exchange for a flag from Lyman, which has been unfurled in Westport as part of the sister city relationship.
In support of the sister city bond, Westporters have raised over $250,000 to help rebuild Lyman since December.
And for that, the Mayer brothers say they are extremely grateful.
“Thanks to Westport, we have been able to supply Lyman with two new trash trucks and two new police patrol cars, equipment for first responders including boots, socks and radios, thousands of meals for the elderly, toys for the children, and construction materials to rebuild three apartment buildings with hundreds of units, and that’s just so far,” Brian said during last week’s interview.
Marshall recalled speaking to a local official in Ukraine who told him that they used to look to the East. “The Russians were our brothers,” the Ukrainian man told him. “Now we look to the West,” to Americans, he said, and feel gratitude “to people we had never met or spoken to, who say, ‘We are here to help you.’ ”
The brothers got their family involved in their relief efforts for Ukraine last summer when their parents, Jeffery Mayer and Nancy Diamond, took a trip to Ukraine with fellow Westporter Ken Bernhard.
It was early in the war, and they brought basic items for soldiers, as well as other much-needed supplies, Diamond said. “We brought over whatever we could carry. We drove across the border [from Poland] and passed it across,” acting under direction of their sons.
Although the Westport couple worries about their sons’ safety, “We’re very proud of the work they’re doing,” she said.
One of the main goals of Ukraine Aid International is continuing to build a long-standing relationship between Westport and Lyman, and to promote the idea of linking a sister city in Ukraine with other Connecticut communities and elsewhere in the U.S., according to Brian.
“We want Westport to be an example for Connecticut and the rest of the country for towns to come together and support sister cities in Ukraine.”
The Mayer brothers intend to keep working to help Ukraine — for years if necessary.
“It’s anyone’s guess when the war will end,” Brian said. “But it doesn’t matter when the war ends, the rebuilding will take decades.”
To donate to Ukraine Aid International, or to learn more about the Westport-based nonprofit, visit the group’s website.
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Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and currently teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.
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