We’ve told you about all the good he has done and continues to do for the refugee Borzoi and their humans in Ukraine. But we’d like to tell you more about Ivan Divilov. He is a Kyiv police officer, a public figure that served and protected the citizens of his city well before the war began. His compassion knows no bounds.

 

Deliveries and evacuations are just the tip of the iceberg. Many miles on the road have brought to his attention a great need for desperate people. Many of the rural villages Ivan travels to have received little to no humanitarian aid. The more need he finds, the more ways he finds to help. He will not, cannot just drive by.

 

The team in Ukraine is tireless!!  Ivan’s home has become a warehouse. A staging area and storage site for the essential medicines, and food he delivers not only to the Borzoi community but to the underserved villages he’s encountered.

 

Behind the scenes are two amazing ladies: Marina Shiman and Inna Isaeva.

 

Marina has strategically procured and arranged the transport of all the humanitarian aid from the generous people of Poland to Ivan at the Ukraine border; aid for people and pets of the forgotten villages, senior facilities and child care centers. Food, medicine, clothing; the essentials for survival.

 

Inna has Ivan’s back. From the moment supplies arrive, she is sorting and prepping, going the extra mile by laundering all donated clothing. She creates the lists of items and addresses for delivery. She co-pilots, loads and unloads the truck. She cares for Ivan’s dogs while he is away helping others. In short, she is there supporting Ivan every step of the way. It is truly a labor of love for her fellow citizens that are struggling to survive.

 

But these deliveries are not simply drop off points. Ivan educates the people he visits on safety issues they now face; landmines, unexploded bombs, weapons of war. He delivers supplies yes but just as importantly he delivers reassurance; that they are not forgotten.

 

It takes a lot of teamwork to arrange these humanitarian missions and Team Ukraine is going above and beyond to help their fellow citizens and pets. It is our honor to work with these exceptional people. Thank you, Ivan, Inna and Marina for your monumental efforts.

 

NBRF’s mission is Borzoi specific and the funds that have so generously been donated are used to that end only. But we are also a community of compassion and are looking to assist Ivan as he has so many others. To date four truckloads have been donated by the wonderful people of Poland and delivered to hard hit rural areas in Ukraine: children’s centers, the injured and elderly, homeless families and hungry pets. 

 

This is bigger than our community can handle solo and supplies are running low.  We are actively seeking an organization with funding and/or supplies to partner directly with Ivan’s team in Ukraine.

 

Six degrees of separation? Let’s prove the theory that any two resources are only ever six or less connections apart. Email Kate at katenbrf@gmail.com with your possible contacts for aid. We know help is out there!!