Coronado Rotary Catalyst for Ukrainian Relief
Friday, July 22, 2022
Tonight, a Ukrainian refugee family of five sleeps soundly in a compassionate Danish family’s home, not realizing that the Rotary Club of Coronado, thousands of miles away, served as the catalyst for their ultimate safety. This family’s refuge all started because of a weekly meeting of Coronado Rotary and has since mushroomed into so much more. In fact, Coronado Rotary recently issued a substantial grant to the Rotary Club of Holbaek, Denmark to ensure that other similarly displaced Ukrainian refugees will find shelter from the war-torn ravages of their beleaguered homeland.
 
This story has so many twists and turns, that it’s best to start at the very beginning. Coronado resident Bill Bartsch, a 22-year veteran of the US Navy Reserve, is a Senior Harbor Pilot with the San Diego Bay Pilots Association. Harbor Pilots are skilled marine navigators who guide visiting ships in and out of San Diego Bay. One of the ships Bartsch has maneuvered frequently over the years is the M/V Maersk Launcher, an offshore vessel sailing under the flag of Denmark. The Maersk makes regular trips to the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” 1,200 miles off the California coastline to engage in extensive oceanic plastic pollution clean-up efforts.  
              Captained by Preban Hall, a graduate of the Royal Danish Naval Academy and retired Danish Naval Officer, the Maersk is a formidable ship that docks at the 10^th Avenue Marine Terminal just over the bridge during stopovers in San Diego. “Preban Hall and I had a brotherhood at first sight,” explains Bartsch, noting that over the years they have established a deep understanding and strong friendship that has brought each of their families together.
            “Captain Hall absolutely loves Coronado, and in particular loves the US Navy,” Bartsch continues. “He’s also a great advocate for females in the maritime industry.” Because of this, Bartsch invited Hall to a Rotary meeting in August when Captain Amy Bauernschmidt spoke about becoming the first female CO of a nuclear aircraft carrier, the Abraham Lincoln.
              That experience had a marked impact on Hall, not only because of the opportunity to speak personally with Captain Bauernschmidt, but also because of the warm welcome he received from Coronado Rotarians at the meeting. “When Bill Bartsch invited me to hear the speech and meet Captain Bauernschmidt, I was introduced to the basic values of Rotary,” Hall explains.  “I was aware of the existence of Rotary Club, but admittedly at that time not in detail. I met with people in Coronado Rotary Club that were so welcoming to me, and I had the feeling I shared the exact same values.” He was especially impressed with the humanitarian service Rotary International performs throughout the world and the organization’s mission to eradicate polio from the face of the earth.
“When leaving the meeting I decided I would apply to my hometown Holbæk Rotary Club,” he continues. “Plus, all these thoughts were on my mind, when I went on a campaign at the end of 2021 in the Pacific Ocean with my ship the M/V Maersk.”
He further explains, “I had on board a Ukrainian Paramedic, and as the Russian threat evolved during the end of 2021, I discussed this situation with him personally. I gave him my business card with information to contact me just in case, and I guaranteed he and his family would have a place to stay in our home should it be needed.”
According to Bartsch, “When Putin attacked the Ukraine, Captain Hall became enraged. Just like me and many of our Rotarians, he grew up in the Cold War. And he always resented Europe for not doing more to defend themselves in case of Russian aggression. Like all of us, he and his wife Lene asked themselves what they could do to help.”
This Danish Samaritan wasted no time. “He contacted the Ukrainian shipmate he worked with on the Maersk asking if they were ok,” explains Bartsch. ”They replied that they were alright but a family in their neighborhood was in trouble.” Living in the war torn ravishes of Poltava Oblast in Eastern Ukraine, this family of five was on the run from the Russian bombings and murderers. In haste, they packed only minimal things in their car, including their cat, and started driving towards Poland.
“They made their decision to flee February 24^th because they were very afraid of being targeted,” explains Hall. “They lost cell phone connection and ended up in a long line at the Polish border that took four days for them to cross. When they finally crossed the border, they drove in the direction of Gdansk in Poland.” From there the family spent several days waiting while having their car repaired from the arduous journey.
Hall finally established contact with the family, offering his home in Denmark as their place of refuge. This required another long drive through Poland and Germany, where the courageous Ukrainians bordered a ferry to cross into Denmark. “My wife and I were up for 24 hours organizing their arrival,” Hall explains. “We then drove more than 100 miles from our house to the border between Denmark and where their ferry arrived from Germany.”
“They departed the ferry as the second to the last on March 7^th at 3:30 am,” Hall continues. “I managed to talk with a nearby police officer and explained that they are refugees from Ukraine. I also told the officer that some of them were without passports, since they didn’t get all their documents before they fled.”  This intervention assured them safe entry, and the family arrived in Hall’s Holbaek home several hours later.
Now, four months later, Hall has managed to secure steady employment for both parents, Aleks and Marina Kapinus, as well as their 20 year old daughter, Yeva. “Their middle child, Sofia, is eight years old. She was born with Downs Syndrome, and has her own challenges,” notes Hall. “She looks forward to getting up every morning and going off with the school bus. When she comes home from the school, she gives hugs and kisses to everyone.” Monica is their youngest, at seven years old, and has started first grade in a nearby Danish school. “She showed me one book she read in the Danish language, where she wrote in Danish the various animals she found on the pages. She is such a quick learner, and I believe she will soon be speaking Danish,” Hall exclaims.
“Taking a five persons family into our home has been a challenge, but a challenge we can overcome,” he continues. “My wife Lene has taken a lot of work on her shoulders, at the same time taking care for her job as a leader of a private kindergarten with 27 employees and about 140 children.”
“Every time we hear news in the media about the war in Ukraine, we feel it is our war, and we support by taking on initiatives in various forms just like the Bartschs have been doing in Coronado,” he notes. Like the Halls, the Bartsch family provided temporary shelter for a Ukranian refugee family of five who made their way to Tijuana and eventually crossed the border.  
“Lene and I are looking forward to getting back to Coronado and having time with all of the people we met there who are truly the most friendly and kind people we have ever met anywhere in the world,” Hall emphasizes. “Generosity and friendliness is something that you Americans are so good at. Meeting other people and talking with them is a special characteristic that Americans have and you should be very proud.”