International aid worker from Eugene now a refugee forced to flee Ukraine

Erik Heinonen has spent years helping people who were fleeing from war or natural disasters in his job for Catholic Relief Services. That work took him to Greece, Nigeria, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Four years ago, he moved to Ukraine, to the city of Irpin, which is outside of Kyiv.

Heinonen, who grew up in Eugene, built a good life for himself and his family in Irpin. “The things we were thinking about were: finding a group to walk the dogs with, buying bicycles. We were re-seeding the lawn and leveling it, so that when baby came, we’d have a good place for him or her — turned out to be her — to play.”

Then came the war. And after helping other refugees, Heinonen became one himself. In February, Heinonen and his wife and baby, along with his step-daughter and mother-in-law, fled to Romania.

“Part of my work is at times related to disaster risk reduction, which is all about being ready and resilient in the times of disaster and preparing communities for the things that may come,” said Heinonen. “So I was taking a little bit of that framework and applying it to our situation and thinking through what do we need to have ready in case we need to shelter in place if this goes in the wrong direction here at home, or if we need to leave the country, having everything ready to go.”