We are talking about volunteerism in the time of crisis with Aleksandra Smajdor, our SweepBank Business Product Owner for customer onboarding. Aleksandra speaks about who she is, what she has seen and how war has changed her forever.
The war in Ukraine is affecting the entire world. At Multitude, we also feel the tragedy of what is happening and are proud of the individuals working to help others. We are honoured to speak with one of our team who stood up for what she felt was right and took action. Her selflessness has helped many in a short time, and we are forever grateful for all she has done. Please learn more about Aleksandra and where she came from, people she's met, the tragedy she has seen and how her life is forever changed seeing this conflict firsthand.
Q. First, can you tell us a little more about your background with Multitude?
A. I have been working with Multitude for over five years now and am the Business Product Owner for Onboarding in SweepBank. Essentially I map out a quick and efficient registration for SweepBank products and work on registration strategy with product business owners. We focus on the customer and cooperate with the legal and compliance team to ensure security and safety and follow all necessary legal requirements.
Q. Alongside your work with Multitude, you also chose to volunteer directly with the Ukrainian war refugees at the Polish border. What drove you to volunteer, and what have you been doing there?
A. Living myself in Poland, I felt so strongly about what was happening to the Ukrainian people and was driven to help in any way. After the attack on Ukraine, the people of Poland created a group on Facebook seeking volunteers for support, transport within Ukraine, arranging border crossings, accommodation, jobs, and many other ways for people to help. This group attracted over 40,000 people from all across Poland who offered their support. It has been a lifeline for sharing news and creating a community to organise volunteer efforts with the people of Poland and with on the ground contacts in Ukraine.
My first trip to Ukraine was through a friend of mine. He is from Ukraine and living in Seattle together with his pregnant wife. After flying from America to Krakow to fight for his country, I picked him up from the airport and we were driving to the Ukrainian border. After the invasion, many women and children escaped to the Ukrainian-Polish border. Through the Facebook group, I found out how many of them were waiting in cold, long lines for the chance to enter Poland. No one was prepared for this, with lines of cars reaching 20km long filled with people who were sick, hungry, cold and tired. Many were filled with children, but everyone was desperate for supplies. Together with the group, we collected infant formula, diapers, baby wipes, medications, thermal blankets and warming supplies. Me and another friend of mine, we filled our vehicle, and we crossed into the Ukrainian border to pass out supplies to the weary people of Ukraine waiting to enter Poland at the Krościenko border. Soldiers also directed us to deliver desperately needed supplies to a help centre 30km into Ukraine, where women and children were waiting at this safe stop.
I went to Ukraine on the second trip with food packs and water to the suffering women and children waiting to cross into Poland. Through the group, I connected with Caritas Ukraina, a charitable organisation formed after Ukraine declared their independence, who provided us a list of items most needed, as well as some assistance in where to deliver those. We gathered basic supplies like underwear, headlights, thermal underwear and hygienic stapes for those fighting in Ukraine.
Q. Can you talk a little more about what it was like arriving at the Ukrainian border? What did you see, and how did you feel being there?
A. I felt so much pain and saw such human tragedy. People had been travelling for days, scared, tired and with not much left. Women had to say goodbye to their husbands, fathers and sons with the chance of never seeing them again. There were so many children too, all looking so scared. The wintertime has worsened the hardship they face, with so many children and adults falling sick and suffering under the extreme cold.
After my second trip, help centres and organisations like the Red Cross or Caritas Ukraina provided services for people to get warm and find shelter. The long waiting lines have decreased due to changes in legislation during passport control. Yet, even with all of the help and infrastructure, you can still see, hear and feel the unimaginable tragedy.
All of the train stations in Poland are overflowing with people. For example, the Przemysl train station was packed with thousands travelling from Lviv, only about 100km away and taking around 8 hours or more. The scenes from the train station are also a stark feeling of the time. Some lucky people have somewhere to go with family or friends in Poland, as many private homes have been opened up for them, where many have still nowhere to go. Volunteers are working hard to try and relocate people in need of a safe space, but the volume of people is staggering. The stations are just filling with women and children sleeping anywhere they can fit, hoping for somewhere to go.
There are help centres set up for refugees, and in Przemysl, I visited one set up in the Tesco building that used to be a supermarket. Volunteers mainly run it for hundreds of people to stay overnight, shower, eat a meal, receive medical care and register their status.
Q. You must have met so many people all coming to the border with harrowing tales. What stories have staying with you?
A. I met so many people and heard many stories, but meeting Zoriana, Pavol and Anastasia, and finally Ana, I will never forget. These are their stories, and even though it is still so painful to share, I feel it is essential to understand the toll this war has taken.
I met Zoriana in the Przemysl train station with her mom and 5-year-old son when they first arrived in Poland, and all she could do was cry. They travelled from Kijev after saying goodbye to Zoriana's husband, who stayed behind to work with the military. The home she knew was destroyed by bombs, so she travelled for three days to arrive in a country she had never been to before. They spent 12 hours on one train to enter Poland with just a hope of where to go next. She has a relative in Italy but no clear way to get there. All they had for belongings was a small bag for herself, a backpack for her son and a little food bag from the train station volunteers. She told me the day Ukraine was attacked, she bought a pack of cigarettes and smoked them all. She is not a smoker but didn't know what else to do or how to feel.
I offered to drive them to Krakow and stay with my family until we could arrange bus or train transport to her relatives in Italy. Even in my family's safe home, she could not stop crying until she saw that her son looked happy. It took her a while to eat and fall asleep. She was so traumatised and had trouble making decisions, even simple ones like choosing what her son liked to eat at the grocery store. Ultimately, Zoriana made it to Italy. There, her hardship continued not being able to speak the language, her son not able to attend school and without medical or social support. Now, Zoriana is relocating back to Poland. She has secured a safe home, a job for herself and school for her son. We have been in contact, and she still can't stop feeling threatened, scared of not knowing what is happening and what she should do next.
One day at the border, I volunteered to give out food, and I met Pavol and his 4-year-old daughter Anastasia. After serving him some food and drinks and a package of food we arranged just for children, I saw him place a bag on the ground for his daughter to sleep. So I offered his daughter an escape from the cold to get some sleep in my car, and then he and I started talking about his experience.
They had been travelling for three days after escaping from Charkov. The family was already splintered as the war started with Anastasia's mom in Kijev with no communication from her and not knowing if she was dead or alive. He was trying to get Anastasia somewhere safe and had relatives in Germany who could offer help. I offered to arrange a ride to Kracow where we could then organise travel on to Germany. Since he was the only guardian of Anastasia, it would grant them entry into Poland. With Anastasia still asleep in my car, we headed toward the border.
I felt uneasy as we arrived there with Ukrainian guards checking all necessary documents from the people desperate to leave Ukraine. Unfortunately, he was not one of the lucky ones. Pavol was missing proof that his wife was gone and some documents that he could not grab before his home was evacuated. The guards made him leave the border and remain in Ukraine. It was 1 am, -5 degrees outside, and he was forced to stay with no plan of what to do next. They had no family or connections in Lviv, and I felt so hopeless and helpless for this family, especially Anastasia. Knowing this little girl could not escape a war zone breaks my heart.
I helped in any way I could and eventually arranged a place for them to stay in Lviv. Pavol communicated with me and hoped to cross over into the Hungarian border. After not hearing any news for a few days, my heart dropped, but Pavol wrote that he had to give Anastasia up to some friends so he could join the fighting efforts in Ukraine. She is only four years old, without her parents and only has this heartache to remember.
I then I met Ana, and she was just a baby. This little girl was there without her mother and with her ageing grandmother at the border. We were with our friends there with four cars, so we offered to drive them to the Polish border, but since it was the middle of the night, we arranged for them to sleep at the help centre in Przemysl. It was not somewhere I would imagine a woman who was so frail and could barely walk caring for a one 1/2-year-old baby girl would be taking refuge while her parents stayed behind to fight a war for their country.
Q. In a crisis like this, human touches give us hope. Was there something positive that you took away during your time at the border?
A. During my second trip to Ukraine, I posted a Facebook message to the parents in my daughter's class asking for support and help in arranging food packs to give out at the border. The support was overwhelming, and these packs with two sandwiches, yoghurt, a snack, fruit, drink and water were made by the parents and our community. We had to arrange for four cars instead of just two because there were so many. In the end, every single one went to someone in need.
I am so proud of all the volunteers in Poland. These are regular people opening up their homes, giving away clothing and offering their time to support others.
Q. What would you suggest to people looking to contribute? Is there something people need to consider before volunteering with refugees?
A. I would say it is best to first communicate with groups arranging volunteers. It is essential to know what help or supplies are truly needed. The situations change so rapidly it's important to be up to date. For example, my group wanted to organise tents to provide some warmth at the Ukrainian border, but at the last minute found out that tents were already set up by the Red Cross the day before. There are always ways to help, and here are my suggestions that would have the most impact.
Firstly, give support to the organisations already working on the front lines of this crisis, like the Red Cross or Caritas Ukraina. They have the capacity and network to send supplies to soldiers and civilians, especially to areas where the need is greatest and at critical times.
Secondly, Poland's resources are depleting at an incredible pace. Volunteers are pushed to their limits of time, energy and resources. With no available apartments in Poland's largest cities, housing is at maximum capacity. People are still flooding in, needing help finding accommodation, jobs and refugee support, so now help in this area is essential from other countries in the EU.
I can't speak enough about the emotional strain it has been acting as a volunteer. The volume of human tragedy is horrific, and the effects are traumatic. When volunteering, remember to take care of yourself to care for others.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is intended for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, and should not be taken as, professional or financial advice.