Special to The Democrat

UC Davis student brought the horror and heartbreak of the war in Ukraine alive to a standing ovation at Davis’ Varsity Theater Saturday morning.

When Sacha Chickering was 18 years old, he bicycled 2000 miles from Barcelona to Ukraine. He raised $20,000 in donations along the way, staying with friends and camping. Sacha took a gap year in Ukraine. He delivered medical supplies, taught English, helped reconstruct bombed out homes, and volunteered in a rehab hospital aiding with the physical therapy of wounded soldiers. He looked for opportunities to help in anyway he could.

He presented his slide show to an audience of over 100 people. With tenderness and dramatic photos, he brought the pain of war alive for the audience. He shared his horror of realizing that burial processions of fallen soldiers happened everyday in the town he was visiting, not once a week as he had imagined.

He expressed his shock and pain of going to the graveyard and realizing that the men buried there were 20 years old— so close to his age. He showed a photo of a hearse carrying a fallen warrior driving by, with the people on the street standing there to honor the fallen. He explained that often as the hearse goes by, people take a knee.

A particularly disturbing photo showed a playground where the children’s slides are riddled with bullet holes. That is not an attack on a military structure. Seeing the photo is heartbreaking and brings home the incomprehensible level of the atrocities being committed in this genocidal war.

He showed the crowd many bombed out buildings and homes. The people already rebuilding. He wanted attendees to see the indomitable spirit of the Ukrainian people. The Ukrainians say Russia has robbed so much from them, they are not going to let them also be robbed of their daily lives.

Many people, including Sacha, were in tears.

It brings folks to our knees to see these crimes against humanity. As the former poet laureate of Davis, Allegra Silberstein intoned in her poem about Ukraine, “when will we ever learn?” Allegra’s poem describes a woman who looked out the window after a bombing and saw that “all life stopped.”

After three years, Russia has only taken about ¼ of Ukraine’s territory. Ukraine’s defense has far exceeded all expectations.

The event was held to raise awareness and to raise funds for an amazing scholarship program that Brett Lee, former Davis Mayor and Councilman started. Brett has been to Davis’ sister city Uman, Ukraine, four times. Among many other humanitarian actions, Davis’ Rotary Clubs have been funding scholarships for Ukrainian students who have lost a parent or been otherwise displaced by war.

For the last three years, 26 students received a $500 scholarship. It’s time to raise funds for next year with the same goal of at least $13,000. The event on Saturday raised $3,307. For more information, go to https://davisforukraine.org.

This event was a great collaboration between the Rotary Clubs in Davis, who have given phenomenal support to their sister city, Uman, and the Sacramento Sunflower Society who host events on the 24th of every month at the State Capitol and is dedicated to helping Ukrainian and Russian immigrants in any way they can.

The Sunflower Society gave the $365 they raised Saturday to the Uman scholarship fund. For more information on the Sunflower Society, go to https://www.facebook.com/SunflowerSociety916/.

Yolo for Ukraine is a new organization working closely with Congressman Thompson to create an extensive list of events to raise awareness and provide support for Ukraine. Go to https://yoloforukraine.org/