Trying to get in touch with Kathy Cadden during the past six days has required patience. For every call she’s taken, it seems she’s missed two more.
“It’s been pretty much nonstop since the first bombs started falling,” said Cadden, founder of Operation Ukraine, a nonprofit she started in Columbus in 1999 to provide medical supplies/equipment and clothing to the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Over the years, her nonprofit has expanded to provide humanitarian aid both here in the U.S. and abroad, especially Haiti. But the crisis in Ukraine that began with Russia’s military assault on the country Feb. 24 represents, by far, the biggest challenge and opportunity in Operation Ukraine’s more than two decades of service.
Support for the people of Ukraine has come from all across the globe, but with more than 500,000 Ukrainian refugees having already left their homes for Poland and other European nations, timing is of the essence.
Few organizations have been able to respond as quickly as Operation Ukraine, thanks to its well-established relationships in infrastructure in Ukraine.
“We have two cargo containers of supplies in Poland now,” Cadden said. “One of the containers we packed months ago, and it arrived the day before the bombing started. When the bombing started, we started securing warehouse space and apartments in Poland. The other container has medical supplies that we were going to send into eastern Ukraine before the bombing. We had to reroute those supplies to a town in western Ukraine. We’ll be providing supplies to both refugees and people who are still in Ukraine.”
Cadden’s group is also ramping up donations of items for family buckets — containing everything from nonperishable foods to personal items a family might need — for future transports.
Operation Ukraine is partnering with the National Church of Christ to solicit bucket donations, which drives currently being held in Alabama, Tennessee and here in Mississippi.
On Saturday, Operation Ukraine and members of Steens Church of Christ will meet to pack family buckets at the church. A Church of Christ in Holly Springs also is collecting and packaging buckets.
Cadden said she’s grateful for the bucket donations, but a greater need has now emerged.
“Money, money, money,” Cadden said. “It costs us $10,000 to get a container into Poland. If I had $10,000 I could send one today. If I had $40,000, I could send four containers that are ready to go.”
Thanks to two decades of experience, Cadden’s group has mastered the logistics required to get supplies into areas affected by crises. For years, Operation Ukraine has participated in the U.S. Air Force’s Denton Humanitarian Assistance Program, which allows for private humanitarian supplies to be shipped on Air Force flights as space permits.
“I can’t say enough about their help,” Cadden said. “But booking containers on those flights can be a problem. What I really need is money to (charter) a plane. I’m working on that with DHL and FedEx now, but I don’t really know the cost. Again, we desperately need money.”
Donations are tax exempt. Checks should be made payable to Operation Ukraine and can be mailed to Operation Ukraine, P.O. Box 411, Columbus, MS 39703 or Steens Church of Christ, 417 9th St. South, Columbus, 39701.
Visit the Operation Ukraine Facebook Page for more information.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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