Ukraine Unheard: War, Trauma and Healing
- Alexander Lang
- 47 minutes ago
- 8 min read
I recently returned from a trip to Ukraine.
The people I met, the stories I heard and the bombings I witnessed changed me.
I want to spend this article exploring why I travelled to Ukraine, what I did while I was there, and why the people I interacted with need your support.
Learning about Novi
In March of 2023, a member of my church invited me to their house for a presentation. The purpose was to hear from the founder of an NGO called Novi.
I will admit I was not thrilled.
When I was a head of staff, missionaries and non-profits would continuously solicit me to support their cause. I received dozens of emails and calls every week. Most did not align with our church’s mission or theology.
I assumed the same would be true for this presentation. I was happily proven wrong.
When I arrived, I was introduced to Steve Gumaer, the founder of Novi, and Jon Peerbolt, director of operations. The mission of Novi is to enter countries impacted by war so they can help children process the trauma they’ve endured.
Steve and Jon had just returned from the frontlines of Ukraine. They told horrific stories: churches full of people intentionally targeted by Russian missiles; children who watched their parents die in front of them; refugees who lost everything.
Novi entered this warzone with a backpack full of games (aka the Novi Kit). Not Uno or Monopoly, but games developed specifically by psychologists to help the players articulate what they are feeling and process the emotions buried beneath the surface.
The results spoke for themselves.
Parents told Steve and Jon that prior to working with Novi, their children had become like Fort Knox vaults—unwilling and often unable to speak about what they had endured.
After utilizing the Novi Kit, they opened up about their pain and suffering. Some children had become non-verbal since the attacks. Novi got them talking again.
Beyond the psychological healing, Novi also distributes humanitarian aid (food, blankets, clothing) to people in need.
I was blown away.
By the end of the presentation, my only question was, “How can I help?”
Love that Heals
Over the years, every time Steve is in Chicago, he will stop by my house and tell me about Novi’s successes and challenges.
In February of 2025, Steve came to dinner with his wife Oddny. Within minutes of sitting down, Steve said, “Alex, I have to tell you about the most remarkable person I met over in Ukraine.”
Her name is Valeriia Martyniuk, a psychologist who works with intellectually disabled youth. Valeriia developed a free day-program that provides these youth with community and teaches them basic skills.
What Steve explained to me is that over in Ukraine, you almost never see anyone with intellectual disabilities in public. Most parents of intellectually disabled youth are encouraged to part with their children from birth.
They are almost universally institutionalized in Soviet-era orphanages.
Abusive doesn’t even begin to describe the conditions. Many are neglected, malnourished, and placed in bodily restraints.
Perhaps the most Draconian feature of these orphanages is that once the children are committed, legally they can never be removed.
Like many governmental systems in Ukraine, corruption is rampant.
For every child under the care of an orphanage, the state must provide $1,000 per month for that child’s care. Of course, most of this money is pocketed by the administrators, leaving few resources for the actual care of the children.
Valeriia’s youth come from the few families in Ukraine whose parents decided to raise their children outside of the orphanage system.
The Boy She Couldn’t Save
Steve told me of an incident that deeply impacted Valeriia.
She had left on vacation out of the country. Upon her return, Valeriia learned that the mother of a young boy in her program had died.
With no family to take care of him, the state whisked him away to an orphanage.
When Valeriia figured out where he was being held, she approached the administrators of the orphanage with the offer of becoming his legal guardian. They refused. Now committed, he was there for life.
Valeriia was so upset she vowed to never allow any of her youth to be institutionalized ever again.
After looking into the legal requirements, Valeriia must fulfill two conditions to become their legal guardians: 1) register as an official NGO in Ukraine and 2) purchase a house where her youth can live once their parents pass away.
Valeriia had achieved the first step by creating her NGO Love that Heals. She simply needed the money to purchase a house where her youth could live.
Steve was trying to figure out how he could help her with the house, so I asked, “How much money does she need to buy a house for her youth? I know how much houses cost in the United States, but what do houses cost in Ukraine.”
Steve said, “I believe she needs $35,000.”
With barely a thought, I replied, “I can do that. Give me six months and I’ll fundraise the money for her.”
Six months later, thanks to the generosity of more than a dozen people, we had raised nearly $37,000.
Buying the House
By February of 2026, Valeriia had zeroed in on viable property on the outskirts of Chernivtsi. The house itself has never been occupied. Construction had been halted years earlier when the family ran out of money.
The house has good bones—brick exterior, three floors, new windows, five large bedrooms, 3500 square feet. With bunk beds, the house could hold up to 20 residents. What it requires is some real work to get it into livable condition.
Valeriia chose this property because it’s a blank slate. She can transform it into what the youth require rather than retrofitting an existing home.
Given how much time I had put into raising money for the house, I wanted to see it in-person. I decided to make plans to travel to Ukraine in July.
Of all my friends, I could only think of one who had the construction/engineering background and the gumption to enter a warzone with me—Kyle Terry.
A good friend from high school, I had prepared a whole speech to convince him to join me, but within 30 seconds of mentioning Ukraine, Kyle interjected, “When do we leave?”
My goal, besides working on the residence, was to film two documentaries about Love that Heals and Novi. We left for Ukraine on July 12.
Travelling to Ukraine
Since Ukraine is in the middle of an active war, commercial flights into the country are banned. Any civilian who wants to enter Ukraine must do so through one of the bordering countries, generally Poland or Romania.
We chose Romania due to its proximity to Chernivtsi.
I’ve always arrived in other countries via airports. This was a bit more informal. Kyle and I walked through a barbed wire fence to the Romanian border patrol where military personnel roamed with machine guns.
Their questions were quick and to the point: Drugs? Guns? You’re good.
Once through, we walked to the Ukrainian side. Understandably, the Ukrainian border guards were a bit more discerning. They searched our bags, interrogated our purposes for entry and, once they realized we were there to help, wished us well.
We were picked up by our handler, Sasha Riabyi, Novi’s National Director of Ukraine.
Sasha is the reason why our trip was so smooth. Not only does he speak English fluently, but he figured out a way to pivot around every blockade we encountered— cancelled flights, lost luggage, missing filming equipment.
Everything I needed, Sasha found. I needed interviews. Sasha set them up and drove me to everyone’s homes.
I requested beautiful shooting locations. Sasha found me striking backdrops.
Kyle needed tools to perform his work on the house and community center. Sasha borrowed, scrounged or bought whatever we needed.
The best part was, every night after we finished our work, Sasha would take us to a different Ukrainian restaurant. I am not exaggerating when I say the food was life changing. Truly some of the best food I’ve ever tasted.
Travelling to Kyiv
Filming the documentary about Novi required travelling to Sasha’s home in Kyiv. While Chernivtsi is relatively removed from the war, Kyiv, the capital, is a prime target of Russia.
Our first night in Kyiv, Russia launched 46 missiles at Kyiv, the most since the start of the war.
Around 2:00am, explosions shook the house and woke me. I heard the missiles flying overhead. Thankfully, Sasha’s home is on the outskirts of Kyiv, so we were nowhere near the blast zone. The next day we drove into the city to survey the damage.
The residents of Kyiv have taken to immediately cleaning up the debris from bombings within hours of the strike. Their philosophy is that by moving forward with their lives, they refuse to give Russia a psychological edge.
In Kyiv, I met some of the families impacted by Novi. During one of these interviews, I met Denys, a fifteen-year-old whose family were refugees from the Donbas region.
Denys’ mother saved him from a Russian missile that blew up their apartment by throwing a mattress on top of him. Their family of five now occupy a room smaller than 100 sq. ft. and live on barely $100 per month.
Prior to Novi’s intervention, Denys had shutdown. He would spend all of his time dissociating on technology. After utilizing the Novi Kit, Denys found the words to verbalize his trauma.
When I interviewed Denys, he spoke fluent English learned from video games. During our talk, I asked him what he imagined for his life. He described getting an education and moving to Canada to live in the wilderness.
Denys said, “I'll just live there in a quiet winter house...I love winter. I want to go somewhere quiet, away from everyone." I could understand why. In his current living conditions, Denys has zero privacy.
After we left, I asked Sasha how likely it was that Denys could achieve his dream. Sasha said, “Denys is a brilliant kid. With the right support and a bit of luck, I could see his dreams becoming reality.”
Novi is the support that will give him that future and you all represent the luck that could change the trajectory of his life.
How Can You Help?
There are many other stories I could tell, but I’m going to save those for the documentaries.
The editing process for both documentaries will require a couple of months. The goal of filming these is to raise awareness of their work and to garner financial support for both Love that Heals and Novi.
That said, you don’t have to wait to provide support for one or both of these organizations. Their work is making a tangible difference in the lives of the most vulnerable children around the world right now.
You can donate to both organizations through Novi. Click on this link: https://www.novi.ngo/donate
If you want donate to Love that Heals, please write a note when you donate indicating you are giving to Valeriia or Love that Heals.
Thank you for your support and for caring about people who have been forgotten in the shadows.