Barrow feeds Ukraine

The truck is scheduled to land Dec. 28, where the Barrettes will be at a warehouse to receive the delivery in Radauti, where they will load up vans and deliver items into Chernivtsi, Ukraine.

Although this is Barnette's third trip to the region since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022, this trip will be the first time he plans to actually enter Ukraine.

When he first returned to the region after his first trip, Barnette realized the situation had changed. He said the flood of people fleeing to the border trying to leave the county became a trickle and the need had shifted. Instead of the focus being on helping people get out of the county, the focus shifted into getting food and other supplies into Ukraine as efficiently as possible.

This time, he said, "I imagine the border I worked at for half a month will be empty."

With a truckload of supplies already coordinated to arrive the same day he arrives in Radauti, he plans to document the entire process from arrival, to loading the vans to crossing the border into Ukraine on his social media page so donors can see their dollars put into action.

"I found out I was really good at traveling to the other side of the world without a plan and making great stuff happen," said Barnette.

The situation in Ukraine, according to Barnette, is dire as millions of refugees remain in the country with nowhere to go and in fear for their lives. "If you had somewhere to go, you went there," he said.

As Barnette embarks on his third journey to the war-torn region, he's most thankful for his wife, Christina. "Without her, none of this is possible."

"How many wives would let their husbands do this? She not only didn’t stop me, she encouraged me because she knew I could do something good over there."

"She knew there was no way in hell I wasn’t going."