Ocean County mayor travels to Ukraine to help refugees

“We went over there with the mindset that if we may assist only one particular person, we’d contemplate the journey a hit,” mentioned Level Nice Seashore Mayor Paul Kanitra.

Kanitra is like so many different People. He is been glued to his TV, horrified by the devastating pictures from the battle in Ukraine as Russia continues to invade the nation.

Kanitra was so moved by what he noticed that final Friday, he took motion and made a humanitarian journey to Ukraine to see what he may do to assist.

“We had a ten passenger van, which we used to shuttle some provides to and from the refugee heart are to the border crossing,” mentioned Kanitra.

He spent every week on the border of Ukraine and Poland and estimates he was capable of assist at the least a thousand refugees with provides, meals, and different wants.

“You possibly can see the seems on the guardian’s eyes when it provides them a few minutes of pleasure in what most likely goes to be an ongoing very tough state of affairs,” Kanitra mentioned.

He is hoping his mission will encourage others to lend a serving to hand.

“All people can assist in their very own manner. Even whether it is two {dollars} or 5 {dollars}, that buys any individual a sizzling meal over there,” he added.

The mayor not solely wished to provide again as a result of he says it was the precise factor to do, however he says his shore city has a robust connection to Ukraine.

For years, Ukrainians have staffed boardwalk jobs. He additionally has a household connection.

“I’ve Slavic background in my household tree. My nice grandfather came to visit from Slovakia. My nice grandmother came to visit from Poland, each bordering nations to Ukraine,” mentioned Kanitra.

Kanitra says he’ll reassess the state of affairs within the coming weeks and contemplate returning to Ukraine if wanted.

He’s additionally planning to carry a profit live performance within the close to future.