FAIRFAX, Va. — Months after Russia invaded Ukraine, refugees continue to flee.
The effort to help families escape the war-torn country has not slowed down. World Central Kitchen has been a mainstay in Poland, about 10 miles from the border, to help feed mothers and children seeking a new home.
Among the many volunteers who flew to Poland to help are Lee and Meredith Hedrick, a married couple who teach at two different high schools in Fairfax County.
Using their own money, each of the former Peace Corps volunteers, spent a week serving food to refugees separately. School officials supported their journey to take time out of school to help.
"I think we really felt like we had to do something," Lee told WUSA9. "We thought we can't sit by and watch people suffer and do nothing."
Lee spent most of his time behind the kitchen while Meredith volunteered to distribute meals so she could have more face-time with the refugees.
They were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of refugees while witnessing the impact of war in person and the power of service and community.
"You couldn't even sit down because you were serving food, breakfast, lunch and dinner all the time," Meredith recalled. There was always a need and there was always someone coming from the train station or border."
"No one ever wants to be a refugee but here they are, without their dads, without their husbands and without their fathers," Lee said.
Meredith said she used the little Russian she knew to communicate and even witnessed some good news when Ukraine won Eurovision.
Lee also spent time outside the kitchen to help buy toys and provide them to the kids continuing the next league of their journey.
"While they were putting on a brave face, you can tell that they were very stressed, so, if we could provide some comfort, that made me feel better," Lee said.
Both teachers said they want to use their experience to teach their kids the meaning of going above and beyond. It made them realize the struggles of being refugees, and hopefully have more empathy for the refugee students in their schools.
While Fairfax County Public Schools does not keep track of student enrollment by refugee status, anecdotally, Ukrainian refugee students have enrolled in FPCS this Spring.
"I definitely think we need to think about how we support the students that are here," Meredith added. "I definitely got emotional, especially on my last day, I'm going home but this nightmare continues for these people."