Public invited to live broadcast Q&A with humanitarian in Ukraine
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REXBURG — The public has an opportunity this Sunday in Rexburg to hear from Andriy Nazarenko, who lives in Ukraine and will do a livestream update on the war, followed by a question and answer session.
The event will be held from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Rexburg Tabernacle, 51 N. Center Street, Rexburg. Admission is free.
Nazarenko grew up in an orphanage in the Ternopil area of Ukraine until 1992 when his orphanage received a grant and he was able to move to Wisconsin for a short time. Following his stay in the United States, he returned to Ukraine and after obtaining a college education, he decided to focus his efforts on serving the Ukranian people.
He started a nonprofit organization called Orphans’ Future of Ukraine, and today he serves more than 250 orphans in and near Ternopil, as well as refugees fleeing the more dangerous areas of the country.
“It’s currently one of the safer cities, so he’s helping lots of refugees,” says Yohan Delton, a friend of Nazarenko and an organizer of the Rexburg event.
Delton and Nazarenko became friends in 2011 when Delton learned about Nazarenko’s humanitarian efforts and wanted to help. While traveling in Ukraine, where Delton’s wife is from, the men scheduled a meeting at a Kyiv train station so they could meet and coordinate efforts.
Now a Rexburg resident and a psychology faculty member at Brigham Young University-Idaho, Delton is reaching out to the community, asking for support for those affected by the conflict in Ukraine.
Attendees are invited to bring donations of less-perishable food, to be donated to local Ukrainians who are already living here, and those who might find themselves here soon.
“Some of them are just very quiet but suffer quite a lot, so we are going to help them,” Delton says.
Attendees can also donate money to relief efforts using a QR code that will be provided at the event, or by donating to the Ukrainian Refugee Fund on GoFundMe.
Delton says the east Idaho community has shown a lot of support over the last few weeks as the conflict in Ukraine has intensified, and he’s looking forward to providing this opportunity for community members to connect directly with Nazarenko.
“He’s on the ground, he’s seeing things, he has the Ukraine culture,” Delton says. “He speaks good English and I’m excited for the people here to meet him.”