I Saw a Need

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I Saw a Need I'm volunteering in Ukraine for the summer, rebuilding houses in Chernihiv Oblast. It is here that I see a need and I feel obligated to meet it.

I remember my grandfather as someone who helped when he saw a need; it became the epitaph on his tombstone. That always resonated with me and there is far too little of that kind of energy in the world, especially when it comes to Ukraine. This country, so much smaller than Russia and expected to be conquered in 3 days, has been fighting the destruction of their lands and culture with valor and an uncompromising commitment to conducting their defense as humanely as possible. I have volunteered with a non-profit group called Repair Together. I will be managing and teaching construction at a site in Ukraine for about 3 months. The goal is to build 9 houses for those who have had theirs destroyed by the Russian bombings. My journey begins on July 8th, 2025. As this is an all volunteer effort, my food will be covered once I arrive on site and I will be staying in a camp as we build. However, I am responsible for all the travel costs, any medications I will need, my ongoing bills at home, and the possibility of being stuck in Poland or on the way to Kyiv and whatever that may cost in terms of food and lodging before I arrive at my final destination, roughly 50 miles from the Russian border. My partner or I will provide updates as often as we can on the situation, the building, and the progress on the fundraising and what was covered. PIcture and video will be uploaded when able. All contributions on my BuyMeACoffee page and my Venmo will go to cover those costs first and, should the worst happen, money raised may also go recover and repatriate my remains, if possible. Any money raised above and beyond these needs will go to Repair Together to further their mission, even after I have left, or, if you have a Ukrainian focused alternate charity, please let us know.

Short video taken when I was running between job sites today.
07/13/2026

Short video taken when I was running between job sites today.

 

Sorry for the lack of updates for a bit, laptop hasn't wanted to boot for a few days but I finally got it going tonight....
07/12/2026

Sorry for the lack of updates for a bit, laptop hasn't wanted to boot for a few days but I finally got it going tonight.

Here's video of some air defense and the drone explosion we later found out killed an elderly man in his home about 20km from us. I shot this from the local youth center where I was doing electrical work.

 

Today's project - building a hip & slope roof on #7 with dimensional lumber, a jig saw, a circular saw, and two volunte...
07/07/2026

Today's project - building a hip & slope roof on #7 with dimensional lumber, a jig saw, a circular saw, and two volunteers that can't cut straight.

For eyeballing and free-handing most of the compound angles with a jig saw, I'm OK with what we accomplished. I was expecting way worse.

Real test is when we try to attach OSB to the stupid thing but so far so good. The brick wall is out of plumb by over 2cm across 6 meters so my additions to the inaccuracy are a match on a fire at this stage.

Last night Russia partially collapsed a nine-story apartment building and destroyed several other homes and residential ...
07/03/2026

Last night Russia partially collapsed a nine-story apartment building and destroyed several other homes and residential buildings in the Daryntskia district of Kyiv.

Distance from where I stayed a few weekends ago in Kyiv is 13 km

Commenting on the overnight attacks in Kyiv....Russia launched 494 drones and 78 missiles into Kyiv. We knew this was c...
07/02/2026

Commenting on the overnight attacks in Kyiv....

Russia launched 494 drones and 78 missiles into Kyiv. We knew this was coming, as very few missiles had been fired into the country over the past month. Russia was saving up for a massive salvo.

This was the largest single overnight attack of the war.

The power is on in Kyiv. The water is running. The trains and busses are running.

That's because Russia didn't strike the power plants.
They didn't strike the railway junctions
They didn't strike the bus depots
They didn't strike the military factories.
They didn't strike the army barracks
They didn't strike the airfields.

They did however collapse this apartment building filled with sleeping families.

23 dead, and hundreds wounded. Incinerated and crushed in their sleep for the crime of being Ukrainian.

It's graduation day in Ukraine. We have a couple volunteers that completed their Bachelor's degrees last weekend.But fo...
06/30/2026

It's graduation day in Ukraine. We have a couple volunteers that completed their Bachelor's degrees last weekend.

But for other Ukrainians...

You cannot hate Russia enough.

Accomplished one thing in Chernihiv - fixed my hair.
06/29/2026

Accomplished one thing in Chernihiv - fixed my hair.

06/27/2026

My nearly week-long side quest may finally be nearing its end. Our patient was pseudo-released from hospital today. We’re required to return to the hospital Monday morning for a final check and discharge paperwork. I’m unsure if defensive medicine, a bit of ass-covering, or some kind of billing scam is the cause of that.

The most likely cause of this misadventure was the questionable decision by two volunteers to engage in some amateur ear-piercing via 4d finish nail. That’s likely what introduced the bacteria into our patient’s system where it was fruitful and multiplied. While we can’t say with certainty what the proximal cause was, the dates line up and I’m comfortable connecting those dots.

I’ve made the best of the time here, exploring the city when I wasn’t sitting with our patient. I had one of the coordinators with me for the first 40 hours, but I sent him home on the morning of day three. Despite being half my age, his resilience had rapidly faded by day two and by then our translation needs could be satisfied by Google. His snoring was also intolerable without earplugs and still audible with them. I had one lovely quiet night of the place but now am back to having a roommate. I’m looking forward to being back in camp and into somewhat of the normal routine.

Chernihiv is a beautiful city, quite different from Kyiv or Lviv. All the major cities in Ukraine have a sort of unique vibe in a way that you don’t see in many midwestern metro areas. Chernihiv in particular strikes you as a very young city, with children of all ages, toddlers to twentysomethings visible everywhere. It’s got its own unique architecture and aesthetic as well. The restaurant scene is amazing and I’ve tried something new every night either by walking to places or having something delivered via Bolt Food or Glovo. (like UberEats or DoorDash back home). You can get an amazing four- or five-course meal here for less than $20.

I’ve noticed a distinct difference from 2025 to 2026 in that there are many more families being started here in Ukraine. I’ve seen many more young children and a considerable number of pregnant people. There was a conspicuous absence of both groups last year and I think it speaks to the optimism that Russia will be defeated in the very near term. Construction projects are everywhere as well, and lots of places are looking for workers. Ukraine has wisely instituted a rule where anyone with three children is no longer eligible for the draft, that has boosted the birth rate from abysmal to just bad, and even a couple of the families we are building houses for have moved forward their planned children to take advantage of the offer. Incentives matter.

All for now, take care everyone.

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Photo dump, will add comments and descriptions tomorrow, unless I forget or there is a catastrophe.
06/26/2026

Photo dump, will add comments and descriptions tomorrow, unless I forget or there is a catastrophe.

06/26/2026

Ukraine has better windows and doors than we get in the states.

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La Crosse, WI
54601

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