Like many people, Austin resident Margaret Meub was shocked by the images and videos of the war in Ukraine.
Austin CBS affiliate KEYE reported that Meub decided to do something about the influx of Ukrainians fleeing their devastated homeland for the safety and stability of the rest of Europe: She flew to Poland to act as a volunteer.
According to KEYE, she has been helping Ukrainian refugees for the past two weeks.
A 21-year resident of the Texas state capital, Meub kept a running account of her experiences in the Eastern European country that shares a border with Ukraine, per the station.
“It is harder to stay home and watch news and not be able to do anything, so I decided to come because doing something is better than nothing,” she said, KEYE reported.
Meub recalled meeting a woman in the Polish capital of Warsaw who was in desperate need of a stroller so she and her child could continue further into Europe.
“We ran out of strollers in the warehouse, so I went to a local store and bought a stroller,” she told the station. “I handed to her the stroller, and she was so happy and to see the happiness on her face was enough to make me cry.”
According to KEYE, Meub performs tasks such as serving food, tending to mothers and their children just like the woman she encountered in Warsaw and donating supplies.
She told the station that there are several Americans volunteering in Poland just like her.
“I’m here because Ukraine needs to win this war and I really think that everybody in the world knows that,” Meub said, per KEYE. “This is part of a personal need to help, to feel better and also to defend democracy.”
Meub added that she’ll return to Austin on April 25, a day after the war enters its second month.
