Fountain Hills resident Mark Lieber watched with the rest of the world as Russia invaded Ukraine in February. In March a plan began to unfold as to how he would travel there to help.

Lieber had made some contacts on Twitter with relief groups working in Zahony, Hungary, so he collected some cash from people wanting to help with a donation and packed a couple of duffle bags with medical supplies. He bought a ticket with his own money and flew to Budapest, Hungary. From there he rented a car and drove to Zahony, a small Hungarian city just across the Tisza River from Chop in Ukraine. The distance between the cities is about five kilometers, according to Lieber.

Lieber, who arrived on April 8, said his original intention was to simply drive back and forth across the border with refugees.

“That was not an option,” Lieber said. “There were a lot of concerns about smuggling.”

He met a woman with Cesvi, an Italian group described as a cooperative, development and humanitarian organization.

“I asked what I could do,” and then he started doing whatever needed to be done. He was getting fuel, changing out propane gas tanks, cleaning up in the food tent and was a baggage handler.

“There were seven trains a day (between Chop and Zahony),” Lieber said. “They had refugees, many moving on farther west.”

In Zahony they could stop, get a meal, and could obtain the paperwork they would need to continue their journey.

Lieber said those with proper travel documents could move on right away or get some food and take the next train. Those without papers would be directed to a tent to be processed.

“It was amazing to see these people come out of the tent with the documents they needed in about an hour,” Lieber said. “They were ready to move on.”

Lieber joined the group from Cesvi and other relief workers in a project to convert an abandoned elementary school into a shelter for refugees. They scrubbed, painted and made repairs over one and a half weeks to open the new shelter. Lieber said there was particular attention paid to the needs of kids. They built play areas and reading areas. There was a group that came from Great Britain with loads of teddy bears to pass out to the children when they got off the train. There was a kids’ corner in the food tent and a children’s room was created in the renovated school/shelter.

“It was like a little piece of happiness,” Lieber said.

He said people have asked him what he found most rewarding about the experience.

“It was really just helping someone in need one-on-one,” Lieber said. “Helping someone with their bags, it was mostly women, children and the elderly, some with their dog. You help them get on the train to move on to the next destination. I encountered one woman in her 70s with her mother in her 90s.”

He said they hoped to reach the home of the younger woman’s daughter.

“Being able to help is most important,” he added. “You can help as directly as possible.”

Lieber is an Arizona native and first came to Fountain Hills in 2001. After heading back east for a time he returned here in 2017. He works as a project manager for a consumer electronics company in Gilbert. The company and his fellow employees have been supportive of Lieber’s humanitarian effort. They made cash donations and even gave up their own vacation time for Lieber to use.

Lieber said the outpouring of support from around the world for the people of Ukraine is uplifting. He said among the first to cross the border after the invasion were college students; they stopped to help and are still there months later. The mayor of Zahony is organizing youth to assist at whatever they can do. There are agencies like the World Central Kitchen to prepare food, and One Middleast Agency from Israel there to help.

Expect Lieber to return. He sees this as a long-term relief project, and some may wonder why go again.

“There are good people everywhere who want to do the right thing,” Lieber said. “They feel the same, ‘I am a human being and I’m here because I care.’”