Inside Ukraine: Colton R. Smith's Experience While Volunteering in Ukraine

Send us Fan MailOne day he was waiting tables, the next day, he was on his way to aid in the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Colton R. Smith joined Gary Scott Thomas for a fascinating conversation where he shared his experience including, the time when he came upon a car that had been riddled with bullets by the Russians even though it had been full of children.Also in this episode:Why he decided to go to Ukraine even though he was “just an average person”What kinds of people can make a difference in the worldWar touristsThe full human experienceThe profound darkness he saw while in UkraineHis thoughts on Russia’s preparedness to go to warHow amazing the people of Ukraine areWhy they had to relocate their headquartersWorking to help Ukrainian history not be lostOptimizing humanitarian operationsAbout Colton:Colton R. Smith is a 25-year-old Californian humanitarian worker who recently returned from serving the humanitarian mission in Poland and Ukraine, where he daily faced the overwhelming crisis created by the Russian Federation’s brutal ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Smith is a graduated UC Santa Cruz European history major who quit his job and dropped everything to travel to Eastern Europe to do everything he could to help in this humanitarian crisis. In eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border, Smith joined a humanitarian aid organization called Help Ukraine Center, where he worked for two months helping to send thousands of tons of humanitarian aid into the war-torn country next door. At Help Ukraine Center, he met numerous incredible people that strengthened both his faith in humanity and his resolve to dedicate himself fully to this crisis. He was then recruited by another organization, called Teleport, specializing in humanitarian optimization to help solve the inevitable problems that organizations face when responding to wartime crises. In July 2022, Teleport Organisation sent Colton into Ukraine as part of a delegation of Teleport representatives to meet in Kyiv with members of the Ukrainian government and a number of heroic Ukrainian humanitarian organizations, to lay the groundwork for Teleport’s new missions inside Ukraine itself. Under the near-daily blare of air raid sirens, Colton and his team forged new bonds in the Ukrainian capital, with massive potential to make a substantial impact in this intense humanitarian crisis. Now, Colton has returned stateside to fundraise for Teleport, which faces a severe shortage of funding. Without the donation support of concerned members of the public, Teleport will be unable to fulfill its role and carry out its various humanitarian missions in Ukraine. Colton and his incredible team hope that through spreading awareness of the realities on the ground and fundraising, Teleport can continue to work every day to provide the critical support that Ukrainian civilians need to successfully ride out the hell of Putin’s onslaught against them. Visit Teleport’s website below to learn more about their humanitarian work and make a vital direct contribution to enable that work’s continuation:www.teleport-organisation.comConnect with Gary:Gary's WebsiteFollow Gary on InstagramGary's TiktokGary's FacebookWatch the episodes on YouTubeAdvertise on the PodcastThank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!