A Los Angeles man who was once an orphan in Ukraine is back in his home country to help kids just like him.
“Being an orphan in general is tough. To be an orphan in war, go through what they go through and hear sirens and bombs, it’s traumatizing for them,” said Vlad Finn, 29, who was born on the streets of Kharkiv, one of the hardest-hit cities during this invasion by Russia.
The aggression ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin spurred Finn into action.
“When I was in L.A. seeing it all go down, I knew I had to help as much as I could,” Finn said.
Finn lived in an orphanage until he was 15 years old.
“That’s when I was adopted with my brother Dennis, who was in a different orphanage,” he said. “We were adopted by an NYPD retired detective. They brought us to New York, Long Island. I had a lot of people help me in my life. I had a lot of kind people who extended their hand to me.”
Now, Finn wants to pay it forward to the more than 100,000 orphans who live in Ukraine, many of them in the war-torn east.
Aerial Recovery Group coordinates an escape for these orphans by car or train.
“One of my clients connected me with Aerial Recovery Group, saving orphans from dangerous war zones toward eastern part of Ukraine,” he said. “The work they do behind the scenes is amazing. When they make it toward the western part of Ukraine, they’re exhausted. A lot of them get relief and peace for now.”
The group makes sure the kids have shelter, food, clothes and anything else they need to feel secure and safe.
“Last night at 3 a.m., we welcomed 40 kids, situated them in an apartment, help them with their bag, welcome them,” Finn said.
Finn said despite the ongoing conflict, he’s not scared for himself, only for the children.
“Growing up in Ukraine and an orphanage, it’s really close to my heart, so to be in this position now is incredible,” he said. “It’s rewarding, why a lot of us do this, to make sure they get at least that peace and hopefully much better future than what’s happening.”
For more information, visit Aerial Recovery Group’s website.