Lending a hand: Newport Beach couple in Poland to help Ukranians who have fled war
Diane Jones Haney and her husband, Bryan, were chatting in their Idaho kitchen when they heard the news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Newport Beach couple, who split their time between their homes in California and Hayden, Idaho, talked about what they could do to help the now 4.8 million Ukranian refugees, according to the United Nations, that have fled the violence.
When Bryan mentioned he wished he could make his way to Europe to lend a hand, Diane asked if he was serious.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Diane Jones Haney told the Daily Pilot this week in a message sent from Poland, where they’re doing relief work. “He said, ‘Yes,’ he’d do it in a heartbeat. So, I said, ‘OK, let’s do it.’”
Haney said the best idea they came up with at that moment was to book a flight to Amsterdam and figure out from there where their next steps should be. They didn’t have any concrete plans on how they would go about helping the Ukrainian cause until a mutual friend put them into touch with Katarzyna Grabowiec, a Polish immigrant who lives in Irvine.
Grabowiec, in turn, connected them with a priest in Poland, Krzysztof Kauf, who was transporting food and clothes into Ukraine as well as bringing back refugees to the small Polish village of Bolesławów.
That’s when all the pieces began to fall into place.
The Haneys then traveled to Poland, where they were picked up at airport by Kauf and taken to Bolesławów, where they have remained for little over a week.
“Although we’re both retired, we tend to stay busy. We both have always believed in helping others out and had volunteered a fair amount for our kids’ soccer teams, helping in their schools, etc. They’re all adults now and it’s been some time since we’ve volunteered in some way,” said Diane Haney, who added that she considered her mother a role model in the field of charitable work.
“I like to think [my mother] helped ignite the spark in me and [to] go do something big for others in need,” said Haney. “Besides, we’re always up for an adventure. We’ve traveled a fair amount in Western Europe, but never in Eastern Europe.”
The couple said there isn’t any real schedule or fluidity to their days thus far, though they have tried to help out in their own ways as Kauf prepares for Easter. They found out one of the refugees was a hairstylist, so the two paid the woman to cut their hair. When refugees were making decorations to sell for Palm Sunday, Diane jumped in to help.
When they learned of some boys who wanted cleats and shin guards for soccer, they gave them some youth soccer equipment they’d brought from the U.S. and purchased other items for them in Poland.
“So, in the first few days, we figured out how to be of help in small ways,” said Haney.
But some of the refugees are less easy to help. While they’ve met a mix of introverts and extroverts, they haven’t encountered many who seem comfortable communicating with them.
The language barrier adds a layer of difficulty for the villagers, the Haneys and the refugees. Few know English and the Haneys don’t know their languages. So, they manage with Google Translate and navigate through hand gestures. Haney quipped it can sometimes seem like they’re all playing a game of charades.
“But you can see and hear a range of difficulties that they have to contend with. One mom’s 9-month-old baby had bronchitis by the time they made it to the border. She’s grateful a doctor was able to prescribe medicine, but it must be difficult tending to a sick baby alone,” said Haney.
Another woman’s son ran away to Kraków, a distance of more than three hours by car from the village. He eventually returned after three days.
“Does it cross my mind that we may be crazy to be here in Poland? Yes, but I spend hours reading the news ... between having a well-equipped military and being a NATO country, we feel safe [in Poland],” said Haney.
She said they’re focused now on fundraising to refurbish a house owned by a local Polish couple that could take in as many as 50 refugees, if not more. For that effort the Haneys’ daughter, Cori, who is still in the United States, has set up a GoFundMe account. As of Friday morning, they had raised $4,600 of their $10,000 goal.
The couple who own the property previously operated a souvenir stand that was hard-hit by the pandemic, Haney said. They were determined to get the renovations done by next week, ahead of the oncoming tourist season that they fear will push refugees out of short-term rentals they are currently housed in.
Haney said she and her husband hope to stay through the next week to help set up all the beds and see the final results of the home’s refurbishment. Once they return to the U.S. she also intends to like to continue fundraising and helping with refugee efforts.
“[Kauf] will let us know if there are supplies we can send or items that need to be purchased. We have become friends with several of the moms and their kids. We wouldn’t hesitate if we knew we would help them,” said Haney.
According to the United Nations, about 2.7 million Ukrainians have resettled in Poland, though Monette Zard, an associate professor of forced migration and health at Columbia University in New York, noted in a recent article published by the university that European countries have largely waived their requirements for admission.
The United Nations reports that thousands of others have fled to Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Belarus, the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation.
The height of the exodus thus far appears to have occurred in March, though Zard notes in the publication that the United Nation estimates that at least 4 million people are expected to flee.
Grabowiec said she believes the Haneys’ mission and hers intersecting is all a “part of God’s plan.”
Grabowiec has been in touch with Kauf for some years now and was donating to him even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She said she would rather donate directly to the cause rather than through charities that she argues would still take a percentage of what she donated.
“I want you to know when the Ukranian people see American people, it is a hope for them,” said Grabowiec. “They are devastated. They are devastated. I speak Russian because I am from Poland. I spoke with a few people. They are completely devastated. But when they see people coming overseas to see them help them and know their stories, it is huge for them.
“I am very blessed that [the Haneys] went there, really.”
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