Field Notes #2: Odessa and the Road to Bucha

In April 2025, our founder, Jack, traveled across Ukraine to visit artists, educators, and students supported by Ukraine Freedom School. These blog entries, drawn from his dispatches, offer a firsthand look at the resilience, creativity, and compassion found across a country still at war. After arriving in Odessa in late April, I met with Sharon Harris, a volunteer who has been in Ukraine since shortly after the war began. Her work with an Adventist charity has helped fund health care initiatives throughout the region, and she generously opened her home to me during my stay.

Cedric, Sharon, and Jack in Odessa

Through her, I connected with a network of volunteers and artists, including a New Zealander named Cedric driving to Kyiv. The goal: to meet Sergei, a Ukrainian artist, and to reunite with Lynne Welton, an educator in Bucha.

Lynne Welton in Bucha

Bucha was the initial point of the invasion in 2022, and Lynne’s dream of converting an abandoned resort into a school has been paused—she’s since decided to enlist in the army.

Lynne and our interpreter, Mari, in Bucha

This leg of the journey reminded me how fluid plans can be here. But amid all the uncertainty, our mission remains rooted: to support education, healing, and artistic expression for Ukraine’s war-affected youth.

This was a Soviet-occupied territory where they took over a camp and interrogated folks.

Note the gas mask and other remnants of the invasion.