Ukraine’s fearless first lady created a ‘convoy of hope’ to evacuate sick children from war zone

Olena Zelenska may be less recognizable than her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but she is seen as no less heroic.

She, like her husband, was offered a chance to escape her country after Russia invaded in February 2022 but chose to stay by his side in the war zone with their two children.

Not willing to remain in hiding or idle, Zelenska threw her energies into caring for kids injured or displaced by the fighting.

The Ukrainian mother launched the Olena Zelenska Foundation to provide humanitarian aid and to evacuate children suffering from a variety of long-term illnesses, including cancer and heart disease, to medical facilities in other countries.

The goal, she told a few dozen donors and business leaders in a private luncheon Friday in Salt Lake City, was “to get them out of hospitals that are in the strike zone and across the border to be treated safely.”

So far, they have managed to evacuate some 500 children in what she called “convoys of life.”

Some of the foundation’s other projects include:

• Building bomb shelters in elementary schools.

• Providing laptops and iPads for remote education in places too dangerous to gather.

• Creating “superhero schools” for kids who are in hospitals for months.

One final aim, Zelenska told the Utahns, was to build an emergency fund for “rapid response.”

Ukraine’s first lady pointed to the missile attack this week on Kyiv’s largest children’s hospital, forcing cancer patients to find treatment elsewhere.

“This brutal attack demonstrates once again that Ukraine needs the world’s attention and help to save lives and rebuild,” she said in excellent English. “My mission now is not only to tell the world the truth about it, about what is happening in Ukraine, but also to actively contribute to the recovery of my country.”

Zelenska concluded with effusive praise for the Beehive State donors — who have provided millions of dollars in funding, food, housing, clothing and services — and a plea for the future.

“I sincerely hope that you and your companies will find communities to collaborate with us starting today,” she said, “and together we can achieve [amazing] results.”

Among the attendees was Gail Miller, whose foundation helped raise about $4 million to help Ukraine within 48 hours of the invasion.

There were more than 3,600 donations and “90% of those donations were for $100 or less,” Miller said Friday. “... So you can see that we are a community that cares.”

Even though Utahns and Ukrainians “speak different languages, our hearts speak to each other,” Miller said, “and we will stand behind you.”

Jonathan Freedman, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah, served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ukraine in the 1990s and became the Eastern European country’s honorary consul in Utah in 2008.

Freedman was the catalyst for bringing Zelenskyy and Zelenska to Utah this week for a meeting of the National Governors Association after the couple were in Washington for a NATO summit.

Speaking of Ukrainians, Freedman said at the luncheon, “they are us, we are them, and they need our help.”