As Europe’s largest military mobilization since World War II unfolded before his eyes and civilian casualties began to mount, the devastating, deadly scenes elicited a visceral reaction from the Torontonian.  “I couldn’t sit on the couch knowing there was something I could do to make a difference,” says Oake.
A loyal, lifelong fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, decided to liquidate his massive collection of Leafs memorabilia in an effort to raise money so he could travel to a war zone.
“I had a lot of autographed photos from old to recent autographed photos, jerseys, you name it.  Unfortunately I only got $2,000, which is a lot less than what I spent (on the collectibles), but that covered my flight.”
Oake took the rest of his savings, called on friends and family for donations, packed his bags and crossed the Atlantic in March.  His plan was to join the foreign legion, but when he arrived in Poland he was assigned to volunteer with a Norwegian volunteer crisis response organization called Paracrew.
For the past five months he has been risking his life driving food and aid to an area where most organizations no longer go – inside the hot zone, near the front lines in Eastern Ukraine.  Oake believes aid agencies are being flagged by Russian forces as targets.
“We are anywhere from 20 to 30 kilometers from the front line,” notes the 33-year-old.  “When you’re that close and moving you become a target.”
This week, the Torontonian and the volunteers he works with are driving to Kharkiv and Kramatorsk.  He says there is “bombing around us all the time, it’s about delivering, getting into the city and getting out.”
As dangerous as the aid deliveries are, Oake says more recently they’ve been frustrated because these trips are becoming less frequent.  Public donations have fallen dramatically since the start of the war.  Shelves of sleeping bags, toiletries and medical supplies will be empty by this weekend.  The Paracrew’s last shipment of food was sent earlier this week and they are not sure when they will be able to receive more.  The food they had was enough to feed about 100 civilians.
However, Oake points out that they have “about 50,000 plus (civilians) in Kharkiv who need help and about 30,000 in Kramatorsk who need food and help.”
Paracrew estimates they have experienced a 40 percent drop in medical aid, a 60 percent drop in food deliveries for citizens in need, and a 70 percent drop in public donation dollars.
Oake tells CTV News that he and the team he works with have a saying: “Empty shelves are a good sign, because that means help is getting to the people who need it, but now those shelves are empty because they’re not there is nothing to make up for it.  .”  He adds, “We generally like to see our shelves empty at the end of the day but full in the morning.”  Suffice it to say, this is not the case.
To save money, Oake and other volunteers sleep on cots in a warehouse in central Ukraine.  In private, Oake admits he just gets away with enough money from friends and family to buy food for himself.  His personal savings and Maple Leaf memorabilia money disappeared months ago.

Photo courtesy of Adam Oake A contractor by trade, Oake spent his time working on home renovations in the Toronto area, now plying his trade in rural Ukraine helping to repair the few damaged homes worth saving in the north after Russian forces left region. “I helped a woman completely repair her roof, where a tank had fired two shells and 150 rounds into her walls. We also helped a man who had a tank go through his house, just to board it temporarily so he could continue living at home.” Photo courtesy of Adam Oake Over the months as Oake traversed Ukraine, he had a chilling front-row seat to the horrors of the Russian invasion. Speaking to CTV News from his makeshift bedroom in Ukraine, he shares that while he’s on the road, he “constantly thinks about the fact that the next time you drive through a city, the places you pass will no longer be there.” This is certainly the case in Kramatorsk. “I passed a village just outside the town, where I saw women and children enjoying the day, or as much as they could, and when I pass by next time, their houses are completely gone.” Photo courtesy of Adam Oake As the cold hard reality of the Russian invasion drags on and public donations become increasingly scarce, Oake is sending this appeal to Canadians. “There are many families here who are in dire need and don’t know where to turn. Put yourself in their shoes, imagine your house has been destroyed and you’re in a bomb shelter with bombs exploding all the time.” His plan is to spend at least three years in Ukraine, in the hope that the war will end and that he can help rebuild homes for families, rather than simply building them with whatever he can find. But it feels like global attention to the invasion is waning, as is support for those on the ground desperately trying to help. “There were concerns that Paracrew and other NGOs would not be able to hold up in Ukraine,” admits Oake, unsure of what the future holds. “There’s an overhead to having a warehouse, having vehicles on the road, without supplies coming in, sometimes it’s almost a waste of time. You don’t want to sit too long, because you know how it is in the east and the south. If I had a truck full of supplies, I would drive them to people in need.”