An event producer from LA County has brought some of the region's biggest events to life from festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival to red carpet premieres. Cat Libor is now using her skills to help Ukrainians flee the war and cross over the border safely into Poland. In an interview for LA Times Today, Libor provided host Lisa McRee with an update on her efforts in Ukraine.
Libor has been working with the Polish Humanitarian Action Group and World Central Kitchen.
"My journey started by trying to visit multiple borders and multiple refugee centers. And I started in Poland, and I eventually went into Ukraine as well, just to learn what the individual needs are. Now, PAH, which is the organization that I've been volunteering with, strictly focuses on the Ukrainian resettlement process as refugees cross the border. And that's where the majority of my efforts play," she said, "I have been staying in multiple locations throughout Poland and Ukraine and very much in close proximity with the borders and where the main refugee centers are."
The resilience of the Ukrainian people is inspiring to Libor.
"Every day, we interact with about 700 to 800 refugees. They leave a little piece with me, and they tell me their stories. And even though they are going through this hardship. They always stop to practice gratitude. They squeeze you, hug you, cry together. They thank you before they get on their bus. They run out, oftentimes with gifts. I've gotten so many little meaningful gifts from the refugees. And they're a very, very strong, grateful, proud nation," Libor shared.
Some younger refugees are doing what they can to soothe themselves and others.
"In one of the refugee centers, I had the pleasure of meeting a young musician who was self-taught on piano. Somebody had donated a small piano, and he was in the center of the hall. And he was making friends by inviting his fellow refugees to come and join him to teach them how to play piano... and it was really beautiful to get to watch. He was very excited to show us all the songs that he knew on the piano, and you could immediately feel that the mood in the room was lifted. So they support each other within the centers in their dark times, and they find ways to make light of those," Libor said.
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