ORLANDO, Fla. — A Central Florida man recently returned to Orlando after raising thousands of dollars then traveling to the Ukraine border himself to deliver supplies to people in need.
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Eyewitness news first introduced Kai Fusser last month when he was in Slovakia, 40 miles from the Ukraine border, buying supplies, and working with different organizations to get them into the country.
READ: One month in, Orlando still firmly in Ukraine’s corner
It all started with a simple message on a GoFundMe page simply titled, “Ukraine Relief Effort.” Within a few days, Fusser says he was on his way.
“I was watching the news like everybody else, and I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Fusser said. “It just hit me very hard, and I thought I had to do something at that point.”
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Fusser says the Central Florida community stepped up with their donations, and in just a few days, raised more than $50,000.
“15,000 euros worth of food, some hygiene products and things like that,” Fusser said. “I’m buying 10,000 euros worth of medication and also about 3,000 to 4,000 euros of food on top of that.”
Fusser delivered that shipment of supplies to Donetsk, which is still occupied by Russians. Now, he’s back in Orlando, ready to take the next steps in his relief mission.
To accomplish so much so quickly, Fusser has taken advantage of a network of contacts he’s built over his career as a professional water-skier.
Fusser was born in Germany and moved to Orlando in 1998. Since then, he’s developed multiple water sports parks in the area, including Lake Nona’s Adventure Park.
He also happens to be a professional golf trainer, who has worked with athletes like Swedish golf legend Annika Sorenstam.
“I’ve done a lot of traveling with wakeboarding, and with golf, but also having friends over there, of course, helped,” Fusser said, “So I had kind of like a landing place, and from there, a lot of logistics came into place with connections.”
Fusser says all of the supplies are going over the border to help the people still in Ukraine. He’s gotten connected with a trucking company, and now has military support for convoys every Thursday.
Now that he’s back in the United States, Fusser is back at work, raising more money, knowing the crisis won’t end even once the fighting does.
READ: Central Florida-based team evacuates thousands from Ukraine
“It’s not by a longshot is it over yet,” Fusser said. “We need medication, we need stuff so guys don’t die over there. Literally, I can say we have been saving lives over there through medication and some of the protection equipment we send over there as well.”
The GoFundMe is still available for those who wish to donate. There’s also “Lift your Gaze,” a local charity supporting Fusser’s efforts.
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