Every Number Is A Story

EVENT - Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have been forced to flee their homes by Russian President Vladimir Putin's war, so it is easy to forget the fact that we are talking about people, not just the numbers that shine on the group.

Eric Van Horn has spent most of his life at Spearfish, with the exception of a college "short" job.

"I grew up in Spearfish from my freshman year, then after college I went to Virginia Beach, I went to law school, but being a straight C student, it's not going to be a happy ending," he said.

Van Horn is a franchise-investment consultant with many years of experience in buying franchises, creating online brands, attracting more investors, and then selling for a profit.

"I am always surrounded by people who are smarter and more successful than me," he explained. "I try to be the stupidest person in the room."

While working at Van Horn University, he traveled to Albania to help NATO bomb Yugoslavia.

"People from all over the world were in the camps," he said. "We could serve soup, especially humanitarian things."

When the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place, Van Horn saw hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians displaced by the Russian invasion, and he was happy to act again, this time. however, armed a little more than a soup pot.

"I posted a message on Facebook," he said. "Hey, I'm going to Poland, border." "And then another friend raised more than $ 50,000 when he left, and another friend raised more than $ 1 million when he left."

His fascination with Van Horn's relationship with people of opportunity helped him travel to the Polish-Ukrainian border. As the money raised began to be used to buy supplies for refugees, Van Horn began associating with more and more groups.

"One of our meetings was with a group of hundreds of refugees at their sports camp," he said. "One of the boys said. "We are going to buy vans to go to Ukraine," because they had connections in Ukraine to enter the war zone. "They bring food and evacuate the refugees."

But as soon as Van Horn began to reach out to those who wanted to help, he learned that there were hidden predators taking advantage of the chaos.

"There are bad people who want to do bad things to orphans," he said sharply.

Van Horn recalled a time when the director of an orphanage in a hotspot in Ukraine sent his daughter to the border with a group of military orphans while she was busy with the daily news. When the girl reached the border, she did not know whom to trust, as there are groups aimed at ensuring the safety of people leaving the country.

Thus, Van Horn contacted the Air Rescue Team, led by the former Green Barrett, which accompanies women and children outside Ukraine to ensure that they reach a safe place and avoid trafficking along the way.

"Some relationships are a transfer of trust with others," he said. "You start assembling the parts, with a network you know, you trust, you can build that network well enough, that's all I knew."

Van Horn said he had taken a fresh look at humanitarian work, the Ukrainian people on the border.

"If I had remembered in time that I would be helping, I would always have been ready to hand out bags and blankets," he said. "But I wanted to come back and help in the long run."

Van Horn spoke to a refugee who worked in the telecommunications industry, helping people, some of whom live here in America, to raise financing and debt.

"He says I've talked to people in the state, they are renewing their mortgages," he said. .

Van Horn's contacts with Ukrainian refugees showed him how real events unfold on the other side of the world.

"When you are there, time stops, you are connected with your family, with a person, now there is the face of this number, now there is a story with this number," he said.

However, not everything was a disaster for Van Horn. His ability to communicate with the Ukrainian people showed him a side of human resources that is rare. And thanks to the power of technology, he was able to share that difference with his friends and family.

Van Horn told about a woman who crossed the border with a bag full of rescue dogs. In all the hardships and uncertainties of the war, this woman knew how to bring a little joy.

"I mean, who doesn't love puppies?" He said. "So I've FaceTiming and now my Spearfish friend has crossed the border, this woman who was in Ukraine. These puppies are not easy, and now I just need them, yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Van Horn said he was blessed with the border experience and is now back to sharing it.

"I have designed my life to have more free time, not only to do more work, to have more money, to have fun, to have free time, but to do these things and have an impact," he said.

To learn more about Aerial Recovery Group դ կանանց Ukrainian women և's role in protecting children against human trafficking, visit www.aerialrecoverygroup.com.

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