Seattle nurse helps Ukrainian refugees at Romanian border as crisis grows
A nurse from Seattle is on the frontlines of the Ukrainian refugee crisis, helping those who are trying to flee to neighboring Romania — a country he fled as a refugee in 1989.
Ben Sterciuc, a geriatric specialist who runs Vital Solutions — a nonprofit organization he founded 10 years ago to provide accessible health care to impoverished communities in East Africa and Pakistan — is on the ground at the Romanian border.
When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine two weeks ago, Sterciuc was in Kenya visiting some of the health care centers his organization helped build. He says the moment he heard that people were fleeing to his native Romania, he felt compelled to get involved.
“When I heard that Ukrainian refugees were coming through the border into Romania, actually through the area where I was born and raised, I knew I had to come,” Sterciuc told Yahoo News.
“Due to the work that I do internationally, I’m in a position to help and bring help, bring aid and financial resources,” he added.
The Vital Solutions CEO quickly built a team on the ground consisting of a few family members, friends and some volunteers. They have been helping Ukrainian refugees in various ways, not only those at the border but also those making the journey there. “We have teams from Romania partnering with teams from Ukraine to help those that are actually in transit, going towards the border with Romania. It takes many days for them to get there,” he said.
More than 2 million people have now fled Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Almost 320,000 of those refugees have entered Romania, and about 85,000 of them have stayed in the country, according to the Romanian Border Police.
This represents “the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II,” Filippo Grandi, head of the U.N.'s refugee agency, tweeted on Sunday.
Sterciuc said his team has been delivering medicine, food and welcome kits with essential items to refugee camps at various crossing points of the Romanian-Ukrainian border. The Romanian government has set up camps with tents, beds, food and electricity at the Sighet and Siret crossing points from western Ukraine, as well as at Isaccea, in the south, close to the Ukrainian port of Odesa.
But Sterciuc’s team has also been able to bring much-needed medical aid into Ukraine. When Yahoo News spoke with him, he had just delivered medical supplies and medications to a local hospital in the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi. The city is only 26 miles from the Romanian border crossing of Siret, one of the busiest crossings since the onset of the crisis. Sterciuc and his team have assisted hundreds of people there.
“I’ve seen a lot in my life all over the world, but this is just incredibly difficult to see,” Sterciuc said, breaking down into tears. “There is a sense of despair. ... There is a feeling of fear and despair that I’m seeing on the faces of the people that we pass by, that we help. It’s hard to describe.”
The majority of those fleeing are women and children, because Ukraine has banned most men ages 18 to 60 from leaving the country. The journey to safety can be long and difficult for many of these refugees who are fleeing on foot, in cold weather, carrying with them their children, pets and a few possessions. There’s also the emotional toll of leaving their lives and loved ones behind.
Sterciuc said many of these refugees are in shock and will need psychological and emotional support down the road. His team, he said, is already preparing to bring counselors in the future.
“We will need a lot of counseling for those who are just fleeing their country in the foreseeable future. But probably for the next few weeks, financial resources are what is needed,” Sterciuc said.
