The Review_May-June 2022 Supporting Ukraine

Chamberlain-Creang ă at the regional government’s humanitarian aid center, run by the military, serving war-torn areas all over the country.

In reflecting on her recent travels, Chamberlain-Creangă remarked “a lot of it was starting with learning, going back to that pillar of Community Wealth Building. Just to first of all talk to people. It was really a posture of learning, and then where we could help, where we could bring some donations.” She stressed that listening is a huge part of the lifelong learning process—listening to both refugees and those running refugee centers. She has learned more about how everyone is working together to help people access the ' supplies and care they need. While visiting the Ukraine region, Chamberlain-Creangă was particularly impressed with the resolve of the people. "We saw billboards expressing urgency and positivity. There's such a sense of love for country and a feeling of ‘we're going to get through this.’ When I tell them about the support for them back in Michigan, there's a sense from people that 'if Troy, Michigan is with us, the world is with us.'" She also shared: “There was a flag as you left the big government humanitarian base. People who come to help write the name of their cities, so I wrote Troy on there.” She stated that there are always opportunities to gain knowledge. Her commitment to lifelong learning is a prime example of the importance of continuing to strive for knowledge, and how that knowledge can shape and impact our lives in ways that one could never have expected. She noted that before taking action, there is always learning that needs to come first. To create better policies, to create stronger communities, “learning is essential,” she said. This article is condensed; see the full story on the MML’s Community Wealth Building page at www.mml.org/cwb/ under recent posts.

Ukrainian refugees at a small refugee center in Romania; Chamberlain-Creang ă and her son at the center.

Morgan Schwanky is a content developer for the League. You may contact her at 734.669.6320 or mschwanky@mml.org.

MAY / JUNE 2022

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THE REVIEW