Russia, Ukraine crisis: American, priest rescue dozens of children

For a man from Pittsburgh, the crisis in Ukraine is hitting home and he’s doing everything in his power to help some of the most vulnerable.

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Allen Sherwood had a mission to rescue five children from Kyiv, WPXI reported.

But he, and a priest, also from Pittsburgh, have helped get dozens more out of the war-torn region.

Sherwood and Father Jason Charron from Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church traveled through four countries to get 36 children —22 of them orphans— and six adults out of Ukraine and into a hotel in the Czech Republic.

Sherwood made the decision after meeting a Ukrainian child named Karina who visited his family over Christmas.

“She was sitting on my lap, and we were just talking about Christmas and things. And I said to her, ‘No matter where you are in this world, if anything ever went wrong, I would help you out. I would always be there.’ That’s how this all started,” Sherwood told WPXI.

Sherwood sent an email to parishioners in the Pittsburgh area after bombs were heard exploding outside of the orphanage.

Shortly after the messages were sent, he got responses from families who were in the process of adopting children from the same orphanage, asking if he could get those children out as well.

Sherwood now is facing a challenge as he holes up in a Czech Republic hotel with the priest, adults and dozens of children, WPXI reported.

He would like to bring them to America, but much of the paperwork needed to do that, including the children’s identification, was left behind in Kyiv and possibly does not exist anymore.

Sherwood and Charron are making sure the children are safe and that they stay with their legal guardian as he tries to manage the process that could continue their adoptions.

The children could also use some help.

An account has been set up with Dollar Bank for donations for Ukrainian orphans who will eventually get to Pittsburgh.

You can mail donations to:

Dollar Bank

Ukrainian Orphans’ Care Fund

P.O. Box 3500

Pittsburgh, PA 15230

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Invasion A woman runs as she flees with her family across a destroyed bridge in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 2. 2022. Russia renewed its assault Wednesday on Ukraine’s second-largest city in a pounding that lit up the skyline with balls of fire over populated areas, even as both sides said they were ready to resume talks aimed at stopping the new devastating war in Europe. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (Emilio Morenatti/AP)

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