GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — An update today on Barry Nelson, the Manitowoc Veteran who dropped everything when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began to go overseas and help. Nelson reached out to NBC 26, and we Facetimed with him and his team as they traveled closer to the Polish/Ukrainian border.
Nelson and his team, a Ukrainian driver and a young couple from Kiev, Ann and Herman, have been to Bucha and Irpin, some of the hardest-hit places we're seeing right now. They're delivering supplies, including the $8,000 worth of tourniquets from donors in Northeast Wisconsin.
Nelson says that even in times of tragedy, he's finding Ukrainian's still offering him meals, or even a smile.
"Ann, one of the folks we're leveraging, we had dinner at her grandmother's house last night, and her house was mildly damaged from a Russian missile," said Nelson, "And she seemed to be ultimately unfazed, just so tickled pink to see her granddaughter and refused to let us go unless we had at least a modest little meal with her.“
Nelson also helped Ann and Herman get back to see their apartment in Kiev. They evacuated the day the Russians invaded.
"There's gonna be an ongoing need in Ukraine for years, if not decades," said Nelson. "So many millions of refugees have left the country. In Kiev we've noticed some folks already trying to return. Well, that means of course, then those four or five million are going to want to return to their homes throughout Ukraine. Maybe that'll take a year or more probably to get them back, I would assume."
One of Nelson's biggest goals still is to get a bigger bus to continue to take people back and forth over the border.
You can follow Nelson's journey in Ukraine on the War Uber Facebook page.
