Advertisement

Alberta father and daughter travel to Poland to help Ukraine refugees

Click to play video: 'Albertan father and daughter travel to Poland to help Ukraine refugees'
Albertan father and daughter travel to Poland to help Ukraine refugees
Edmonton-area businessman Dale Wishewan and his daughter, Sienna, are in Poland to help those fleeing the war in Ukraine, while also shedding light on the plight of refugees and how to help. Morgan Black reports – Mar 22, 2022

An Edmonton business owner and his daughter are in Poland helping refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Dale Wishewan and his daughter, Sienna, have been at a humanitarian crisis centre in Kraków, Poland for eight days helping refugees get rested and prepped for their next location, which include Germany, Austria and Denmark.

“People have been standing at the border for 17 hours. They are so tired,” Sienna explained. “I’ve been volunteering a lot with mothers and kids… the older kids are carrying so much weight.”

Dale Wishewan
Dale and Sienna Wishewan in an undated photo. Courtesy: Dale Wishewan

Sienna’s rule for volunteering is to “do the good that’s in front of you,” which can include cleaning, assisting people to transport buses and taking care of kids so parents can take a break.

Story continues below advertisement

“They have nothing. Some moms didn’t even have baby bottles. We are finding supplies and making sure they can be set up.”

Dale said he has noticed a stark difference in refugees arriving in recent days, compared to those who came earlier to the centre.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“It’s very apparent that the people who have just come through have seen much worse things than those who came through even four or five days ago,” Wishewan said. “I’m certain they have seen people killed in front of their eyes.”

Click to play video: 'How to talk to your children about the war in Ukraine'
How to talk to your children about the war in Ukraine

Wishewan said nearly every single person coming in to the camp is a woman or child — as the men in the families turn around and go back to Ukraine to fight the Russian army.

Story continues below advertisement

“If anything, you’re seeing men from other countries wanting to cross the border and fight in the war,” he explained. “I would say 99.5% of people arriving are women and kids.”

Sienna Wishewan volunteering in an undated photo
Sienna Wishewan volunteering in an undated photo. Courtesy: Dale Wishewan

Dale is the president and CEO of Booster Juice and co-owner of the Vegas Golden Nights. He said he had a desire to go help on the ground because of his family ties to Ukraine.

“We wanted to do more… beyond our usual financial support for charities,” he explained to Global News. “This could have been any one of us… just being uprooted for no reason.”

“When the war broke out, it just pulled all of our emotions a lot harder than maybe if we didn’t have those ties. It was really important to go to help and support in whatever way we could,” Sienna said.

Story continues below advertisement
Click to play video: 'Edmonton designer raises money for Canada-Ukraine foundation'
Edmonton designer raises money for Canada-Ukraine foundation

For her, it was overwhelming to see the amount of people being brought to the centre each day, estimating the number was in the “thousands.”

Dale said he wants people in Edmonton to know donations provide a wide range of opportunities to offer assistance.

“If you have the means, donate to whatever organization you choose,” Wishewan said.

Booster Juice currently has a campaign that is matching donations to Ukrainian refugees. Right now, it will match donations up to $200,000.

The duo plans to return to Alberta on Thursday.

Sponsored content

AdChoices