'The least I can do': This Hamilton man is helping to charter supplies to Ukrainians in need
Stefan Sobolewski is using cargo jets to help Ukrainians who are in need of medical attention and food
1,735.
That's how many boxes of donations Stefan Sobolewski has been responsible for sending off to Ukraine. And it's all done by cargo jets from the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.
Sobolewski, a Hamilton-based paralegal by day and humanitarian by night, got the idea after his employment at Cargojet.
"It was the calling of my heart to help out my fellow Ukrainian people in this very difficult time they are living through. I have Ukrainian roots and this is the least that I can do here to help," he said.
After speaking with the air operations manager at the airport in Mount Hope, just outside of the city, senior officials at Cargojet gave the green light to proceed with a Ukrainian humanitarian charter flight.
But in order to organize and sort what was going out on the jets, Sobolewski needed to secure a space — at least 1,000 square feet of it.
Since he's also an employee at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, he set up a meeting with CEO David Rohrer, who was quick to lend a hand.
The support he received from Cargojet and the museum was a "positive, big help," he said.
The team dispatched three chartered deliveries in March. A fourth is expected to go out this Saturday and another on April 30, Sobolewski says.
Originally, they were hoping for the planes to go every Saturday, but are now leaving to Ukraine once every two weeks or so.
"We want to focus more on certain medical supplies and hygiene and non-perishable foods," he said, as the reason to slow down the pace of deliveries.
Other donations, supports from Hamilton
Sobolewski's efforts come as individuals and organizations in Hamilton are supporting Ukraine in various ways.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress is hosting a fundraiser at the Westdale Theatre Thursday evening. Proceeds from the event will go to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, which will support their humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
Attendees will be able to listen to Ukrainian music and view an exhibition on Ukrainian history in Hamilton.
Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), meanwhile, is gathering medical aid to send Ukrainian hospitals.
HHS said it's already sent about one ton of supplies — mostly for institutions that care for children.
"All of the items donated were either retired from patient use at HHS, or were expired and were gathered from all sites," HHS said in an email to CBC Hamilton.
Supplies ranged from surgical tools to disposable gowns to syringes.
Other organizations are helping resettle Ukrainian refugees in Hamilton, including the YMCA Hamilton-Burlington and the Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council.
Medical supplies most vital
Sobolewski said the first jet that went off was free, courtesy of Cargojet.
By the time the next two jets took off with supplies, he said the flights were funded by two Ukrainian Credit Union Toronto branches via monetary donations.
Right now, Sobolewski said, he's at a "little bit of a standstill."
"Not everybody can help and donate and provide these funds on a constant, regular basis," he said. "I guess that's how things work, but we're looking for funding for our next plane."
When asked what the most essential things to send off are, Sobolewski said there isn't just one specific commodity that people need. But the most important supplies are of the medical variety.
"The most important thing in my opinion would be a variety of medical supplies […] places where people need medical treatment, they have been hit the hardest," he said.
Non-perishable food items are also among the list of crucial things to send, since many who have been displaced might have a hard time finding food to eat.
"We've got people who have been sitting in basements from these bombardments for days on end. And then they end up traveling a certain amount of kilometres to get to another safe point. And by that time they need to be washed, they need to be fed."
In order to coordinate which supplies go where and to the right people, Sobolewski is working with a scouting organization in Ukraine called Plast, based in Lviv.
When the supplies reach Ukraine, Plast takes them and repackages everything sent by Sobolewski and his team.
They then send those packages around to hot spots in the country heavily affected by the war.
"Any places where there's the most need of these supplies. That's where they send them off to," he said.