We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
Transcript/Script((TITLE: TV Ukraine Flying Aid – Shevchenko
HEAD: With Group's Help, US Airline Passengers Get Aid to Ukraine
TEASER: Flying Aid persuades those going to Europe to check some extra bags filled with crucial supplies
DATE: 08/04/2022
PUBLISHED AT: 8/4/2022 AT 8:50AM
BYLINE: Khrystyna Shevchenko
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Los Angeles
VIDEOGRAPHER: Khrystyna Shevchenko
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, see courtesy
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: KE; Reifenrath
PLATFORMS: TV only
TRT: 2:56
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE:))
((INTRO:))
[[Travelers heading from the United States to Europe this summer can also help transport relief supplies to Ukraine. Khrystyna Shevchenko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.]]
((NATS)) ((Suitcase being delivered))
((NARRATION))
It’s busy here at the San Francisco International Airport. Ivan Haid is here today, but he’s not traveling — he’s supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
((NATS)) ((Knocks on the car window))
((Ivan Haid, Flying Aid Coordinator)) ((Ukranian))
“Right now, we’re just going to unload all the suitcases with the guys.”
((NARRATION))
Haid’s job with the organization Flying Aid is to coordinate the effort to get private travelers to transport essential supplies from the United States to Ukraine. So far, several tons of aid have been sent from California to Ukraine.
((Ivan Haid, Flying Aid Coordinator)) ((Ukrainian))
“I thought, 'What if one passenger, instead of
((Mandatory courtesy: Flying Aid))
taking three bags with him or her, would take ten or twenty? We would be able to send the aid Ukrainian fighters
((End courtesy))
need so much.'”
((NARRATION))
Haid’s friends Andriy Hubenko and Maxym Pavlyshyn loved the idea. That’s how Flying Aid was born.
If anyone is willing to pass along a few bags
((Mandatory courtesy: Flying Aid))
of humanitarian aid, medical supplies or protective gear to Ukraine, they know to go to Haid. On their end, Haid and his friends look for passengers traveling from San Francisco to Europe and
((End courtesy))
((Mandatory courtesy: Arsen Kostenko))
then make arrangements.
Arsen Kostenko is flying to Warsaw, Poland. He gladly agreed to help.
((Arsen Kostenko, Passenger)) ((Ukrainian))
“I’m doing this to feel useful. It’s hard to feel useful if all you do is transfer money. … So, my trip now feels very important to me!”
((End courtesy))
((NARRATION))
Volunteers have thought out the entire process, from collecting suitcases and bags — that's Pavlyshyn's job — to packing them with supplies.
((Maksym Pavlyshyn, Volunteer)) ((Ukrainian))
“We collect empty suitcases in my garage. At one point I had 83 empty suitcases; now it’s about 20 or 30. How do we do it? We ask friends and acquaintances; we ask around at work if people have suitcases and bags they don’t need.”
((NARRATION))
Hubenko personally inspects the cargo before it gets sent away to make sure all the supplies are in place.
Another important detail is the agreement with airlines — not all airlines are OK with so much extra luggage on board. Yarema Kuzyshyn of Hromada, a nonprofit helping raise funds for areas of Ukraine most affected by war, helps passengers deal with the airlines.
((Yarema Kuzyshyn, Hromada Co-founder)) ((Ukranian))
“Sometimes we get large discounts; at times we are allowed to take all those bags for free. The majority realize the scale of the war and try to help.”
((NARRATION))
In Warsaw, one Flying Aid's volunteer receives the suitcases of
((Mandatory courtesy: Flying Aid))
supplies. Then he sends everything to Lviv, where another volunteer distributes aid throughout Ukraine.
((For Khrystyna Shevchenko in San Francisco, California, Anna Rice,
((End courtesy))
VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Los Angeles
BylineKhrystyna Shevchenko
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
