Kamneev Rai serving refugees at Ukraine border on first tour of duty in early April

Dear Supporter,

This week we introduce another amazing volunteer, Kamneev Rai who served as one of our early volunteers and is now back at Camp Nalwa in Poland for a second round of service to the refugees.

Kamneev remembers a quote from her first tour of service by a Ukrainian refugee who came to Camp Nalwa with her baby , “I think I normally wouldn’t be brave enough to flee from my city. But when I woke up to explosions that morning and realized what it was, I picked up the baby and went. First, I stayed in another city which was starting to be closed for us, and then another. Finally my baby got pneumonia, and then I got very sick. We have been moving for 23 days”

Kamneev was born and raised in Chicago (USA). Kamneev is a violinist and music educator. In college Kamneev triple majored in music education, orchestral conducting, and finance. Following this Kamneev got a Masters in violin performance. Right now while serving the refugees, Kamneev is pursuing Phd in musicology at University College of Dublin in Ireland.

Kamneev lived in Estonia, a country which takes special pride in musicians. There Kamneev noticed refugees from different countries including Nigeria, Syria and Ukraine (from previous wars). Kamneev developed an affinity and patriotism for Estonia in its openness towards refugees.

When the war in Ukraine started, Kamneev quickly made plans to travel to the base camp in Medyka, Poland. A friend introduced Kamneev to the UNITED SIKHS organization, and being the first woman on the ground with UNITED SIKHS, she joined. Kamneev was involved in multiple projects including serving hot meals, hygiene kits & baby products to refugees, creating protocols to prevent trafficking of refugee women and children and crossing borders to serve needs and help other organizations to refugees waiting to make it to safety.

Kamneev Rai in her second tour of service with children displaced by war that she is teaching at a school in Ukraine

After serving refugees and civilians inside the country for 3 weeks, Kamneev flew back home to Chicago. And now Kamneev is back at the border with UNITED SIKHS, serving primarily in Ukraine. She teaches music to students in 3 villages and facilitates activities for elderly at the civilian camp there.

Kamneev has this message for everyone out there around the globe: “I believe every penny helps. If you are unable to donate yourself, please share the message of this campaign. We are so far one of the very few organizations to provide a secure, warm tent for refugees to stay in and oftentimes to sleep in overnight. We also supply a significant amount to refugees, volunteers, and military/police on a daily basis. To continue providing these, support is much needed. Something that strikes me is the physical relief we start to see in refugees when they realize the assured comfort and support we came to offer for them. I see this on the ground in Medyka, I’ve seen tears in the border guards I know, so appreciative of our efforts to help their people. As the needs are now more into Ukraine, we are responding to it.”

We are deeply thankful to dedicated volunteers like Kamneev who are taking many weeks out of their lives to serve refugees from Ukraine.

Learn More About Mission Ukraine

Gurvinder Singh

International Humanitarian Aid Director

Recognize the Human Race as One