Former NEK Woman Does Her Part To Help Ukrainian Refugees

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA – A former Derby Line resident, now living in Keeseville, New York, returned to the United States over the weekend after spending two weeks in Romania. Maria D. Holderman traveled there to work in a refugee center to assist Ukraine immigrants who fled from their country as Russian forces continue to attack their homeland.

Holderman is no stranger to that part of the world. She was born in Dragasani, Romania, in December 1967. A week after the war with Ukraine started, Holderman decided to return to Romania. She traveled at her own expense, spending $1,300 because she couldn’t just do nothing after seeing the news. Through the Facebook page, “Romanians for Progressive Values," she connected with other volunteers, most of them Romanians living worldwide.