Emory Morsberger: Helping Ukraine

By Victoria R. Crosby

I recently attended a lecture by Emory Morsberger who gave a very moving talk about his visits with a relief team to the front lines of the war in Ukraine. Emory serves as president for Tucker Summit Community Improvement District (CID), and executive director for Gateways85 CID, which is one of the largest CIDs, covering fourteen square miles, and directs all activities for these two metro Atlanta CIDs.

Emory Morsberger first visited Ukraine in 1998 when he began hearing stories from the Ukrainian people of freedom from Russia. On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine with a full-scale war.

“The people of Ukraine want to live productive lives, like any other group of people,” Emory told the people listening attentively to his lecture. “After the invasion five million women and children left the wartorn country, but men aged from sixteen to sixty-five are not allowed to leave. Many of the people who left went to Romania, Poland, Germany, and the United States.”

After sending financial contributions, Emory wanted to do more to help, and at the top of Stone Mountain, he prayed to God about wanting to do more than sending money. Many groups all over the world are helping, including churches, his local Rotary group, and Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC), a non-profit organization that recycles home medical equipment and assistive technology. FODAC is a national organization founded in 1986 to collect durable medical equipment and distribute them to disabled resident and their families.

Emory’s Rotary group delivered much needed medical supplies and basic medicines to hospitals across the war zone. Thirty-seven pallets of medical supplies were shipped free by UPS within the US, and then flown by Delta Airlines at half price to Ukraine. One shipment equals a month of medical supplies. It is the women of Ukraine who do the transporting as the remaining men are too young or too old. Truckloads of supplies come from all over the world in tractor trailers, bringing food and other essential supplies. Germany and Austria supply a lot of medicines. Black and Black Surgical has sent medical instruments. Medical equipment has been sent to fourteen hospitals, including surgical drills and incubators for newborn babies. There are bomb shelters in every hospital, and when the air raid sirens go off everyone goes to the shelters.

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but many people are living in gyms, schools, and other government buildings as the Russian bombing knocked out the power, so they had no power for light or heat until generators were brought in.

During the presentation Emory showed photos on a screen of the map of Ukraine, and which areas the Russians had taken, photos of bombed out buildings, and of volunteers bringing supplies. He said he didn’t want to show photos of children, as it was too heartbreaking.

He spoke about Putin as a PR genius and the Russian influence through social media on the 2016 US election. “I feel confident that he (Putin) will be gone by next year; however, he could be replaced by someone even worse.” Emory told the audience about the resourcefulness of the Ukrainians as he described how they repurpose the tanks that are abandoned by the Russians when they got stuck in the mud during the rainy season. Consequently, the largest supplier of tanks to Ukraine is Russia!

“I feel strongly that they (Ukrainians) are determined to win,” Emory said. “The Russians are not motivated; they don’t want to be there.”

Ukraine has drones and missiles which will blow up Russian ships. Emory predicts that the war will end early next year as the Ukrainians are pushing back the Russians.

When asked how he felt being in a war zone, Emory responded, “I felt like I was in a movie. I had no fear. I was just doing what I was supposed to do.”

More information at https://helpingukraine.us/

Re-imagine Your Child’s Next Gift Cont’d from page 21

Community Matters Continued from page 17