Orinda Teen Part of Online Effort to Help Share Stories from Ukrainian Teens
ORINDA (KPIX) -- There are millions of heartbreaking stories coming out of the war on Ukraine: stories that Vladimir Putin probably doesn't want the world to hear. But in this golden age of communications, a young East Bay woman is joining the effort to shed light on what's happening.
About a year ago, 16-year-old Nicole Guo of Orinda joined an online tutoring group called ENGin that connects people to young Ukrainians to help them learn English.
"I hadn't really heard much about Ukraine," she said. "It wasn't a country that was in the news a lot. So I thought it would be really interesting."
But now, Ukraine is in the news every night. And, armed with just a laptop and the internet, Nicole has suddenly become part of a vast citizens' army creating a supply-chain of information and lending aid and support to those in harm's way.
"Reading the news is something different," said Guo. "I think, by showing the real perspectives of individuals in Ukraine, especially just regular teenagers, it kind of puts a face to all that's going on, rather than just reading numbers or places that are being bombed and stuff."
One of those "regular teenagers" that Guo communicates with is Myroslav Bur from the northern city of Krolevets. The 17-year-old had traveled to Kyiv to attend a science fair when the Russians invaded.
"I was called by my father at 5 am and told, 'Myroslav, the war began. You must come back home as soon as possible,'" explained Myroslav on a Zoom call.
But travel was cut off. Myroslav huddled in a basement bomb shelter with hundreds of people. After two days, he decided to make a run for it. He somehow boarded a 15-car train with a thousand people waiting at the platform.
He spent the next two days getting to the Slovakian border.
"It was terrible because it was super cold, even though Ukrainian volunteers tried to give us a lot of food, hot tea and clothes," he said. "It was horrible to stay. It was hard."
Myroslav was taken in by a Slovakian family and now waits, day after day, not sure what is happening with his family or what his own future holds.
"I don't know what to say about this war," he said. "I'm just scared."
Myroslav's story is just one of the millions that hide beneath the headlines. But the world is hearing them because of people like Guo.
"It's like, this new generation now, we can connect with people all over the world and really talk to them," Guo said.
They say the first casualty of war is the truth. But the truth is getting out...thanks to an army of teenagers that Vladimir Putin never saw coming.
Myroslav is being supported by a scholarship group called Ukraine Global Scholars that has shifted to helping student refugees. More information on how to make a donation is available at the group's website.