French Valley Woman On Mission To Help Ukrainians Escape War

FRENCH VALLEY, CA — A French Valley woman who spent part of her young adulthood in Ukraine has taken up the cause of a lifetime. Her humanitarian efforts began with a simple request around the time of Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of her former host country.

"A Ukrainian friend asked for help getting out of the country," Nancee Tegeder, 43, explained.

The request was via a social media post from Yulia Shvets. She was trying to flee the unimaginable horror with her three boys, ages 9, 10, and 11.

Tegeder, who has young children of her own, offered to help raise money for the family's plight.

"Please consider helping this mama and her boys. Every little bit helps," Tegeder pleaded on her own social media accounts. She included Venmo and PayPal accounts where people could donate.

Tegeder's plea went viral very quickly and good Samaritans stepped up. The funds that were raised helped Shvets and her children get to Germany, where they remain pending possible immigration to Canada.

Shvets documented the journey for Tegeder. It began with a 24-hour drive from the eastern part of Ukraine to a train station in Lviv, on the country's western side.

"People are nervous and running around the train station. Not everyone has the opportunity to board the train. There are not enough seats. There are not enough trains," Shvets told her through texts and social media channels. "Two grandmothers, two mothers and three children boarded another train to Poland. One woman and two children were afraid to go and changed their minds last minute. They stayed behind. We gave them money for food and medicine."

As Shvets and her children journeyed to Poland, then Germany, she relayed to Tegeder, "Ordinary people from Germany offered to drive us at their own expense when we were at the aid center in Poland. This center is something grand. People with big hearts have gathered in one place to help the Ukrainian people. I had tears in my eyes and a great shock from the righteous works they are doing there."

Tegeder's efforts didn't stop with Shvets and her boys. It couldn't. There were more friends, too many people in need.

Life In Ukraine

Tegeder served as a missionary in the eastern part of Ukraine for about 18 months. She was just 21 years old at the time, but she got to know the people and met her future husband there.

"The country was still coming out of communism," she recalled. "Most people were poor and very humble. They were smart, hardworking and prideful."

Tegeder's life trajectory is proving serendipitous. She is an attorney, but when the pandemic hit she paused her career to stay with her children who were at home for virtual learning. As things began opening up last year, she delayed a return to work. Then the Russian invasion hit and her path was altered in another way.

Tegeder's humanitarian efforts are now a full-time job. As she tucks her own children safely into their beds at night, Ukrainians are waking up to a new day of unknowns.

"It's surreal," Tegeder explained. "I'm in two different worlds."

Via her PayPal and Venmo accounts that are still welcoming donations (Venmo at Nancee-Tegeder 4330 — or PayPal at nanceetegeder@gmail.com), Tegeder has raised more than $100,000 for the Ukrainian people, and she has hooked up with other humanitarians, including a woman who has raised about $200,000 for the cause. There has been enough funding to help secure seven vans in Ukraine that are being used to transport those fleeing the Russian attack. Tegeder explained that as the east is being torn apart, people in western Ukraine —where most of the vans were purchased — are trying to continue some semblance of normalcy.

Seven to 10 van drivers rotate duty, making the dangerous trek to ferry people out of the war zone, Tegeder said.

One of those drivers, Alexsey, shared this with Tegeder in early March:

"This morning I am picking up another family, a mother with two children, and we are going to the border," he relayed. "Information that I'm transporting people is spreading very quickly. I get calls from people I don't even know. There is already a queue."

A day or so later, Alexsey reported, "There is information that the enemy is advancing and wants to encircle Kiev. ... If they don’t let me drive, I will walk. I will take people out of Kiev by foot and then by car."

Tragically, he wrote a few days later, " ... there are cases when Russian soldiers kill unarmed civilians. This is being done on purpose, as pressure on Kyiv and other cities to give up without a fight. Kyiv will soon be encircled."

Another driver, Andriy, is also making the perilous journeys. Like Alexsey, he is without his family in Ukraine because they have all relocated to other countries amid the war.

In mid-March, Andriy did a rescue from cities where there had been missile attacks the day before. His passengers included a disabled mother, two pregnant moms with children, and a mother of five. In a video shared with Tegeder, singing breaks out in the van to help pass time on the long drive to relative safety. The small children are quiet in the video snippet, they appear weary with blank faces.

In a solemn early April rescue, Andriy reported that helpers who arrived before him were shot and killed.

Something Worth Fighting For

There are days when Tegeder wants to put her phone down to shut off news of the war.

"It is difficult to watch and depressing to see them suffer," she said. "And yet, they don’t have the option to turn their phones off to avoid these constant realities."

On April 6, Tegeder was surprised to learn she had received a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate for her humanitarian efforts. It was signed by Sen. Melissa Melendez.

"The tribute made me emotional. I truly feel this honor belongs to all the donors, and even more so to those in Ukraine risking their lives to help others," Tegeder said.

The money she is helping to raise is not just going to emergency transportation. Mattresses, food, clothes, medical supplies — these are just some of the basic necessities being provided to Ukrainians.

Sometimes a family just needs financial resources, but pride can get in the way of accepting help.

"It's been difficult to give these people money sometimes," Tegeder said.

She is hopeful the collective spirit of the Ukrainian people will prevail.

"Many Russian troops don't even know why they're there," she posited. "Ukraine has something to fight for — it's their country."

If you would like to donate to the efforts, you can Venmo at Nancee-Tegeder 4330 — or PayPal at nanceetegeder@gmail.com