We bend the arc of our own story…
Roughly 100 years ago, Trevor’s great-great-grandfather Efraim Molensky was killed in a massacre of Jews in Ukraine. His wife Faiga Molensky fled the country with her four children in tow. One of those children was Sam (bottom right), who Trevor Samuel was named for.
Four generations later, Trevor and his father returned to Ukraine – this time not as victims, but as people in a position to help.
Along with other members of Temple Emanu-El, Trevor helped pack more than 9,000 pounds of donated supplies to help the women and children fleeing the war. They packed everything in 129 large duffel bags to travel with them to the Poland-Ukraine border.
In March of 2022, three weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, the group distributed their essential supplies to the people crossing the border into safety — mostly families who had packed their lives into suitcases to ensure the safety and survival of their children.
The experience left Trevor with an enormous appreciation for the hardship those displaced people are facing, as well as a sense of optimism about the global effort to help.
“Part of what I realized in Poland and Ukraine is that kids are just kids, even when they are escaping their homes.
I will never forget seeing everyone crossing the border out of Ukraine with their family pets. I would never leave my dog Rocket behind, and I know the Ukrainian children felt the same way.”
When Trevor met Iryna, an 11 year old who had to leave her cat behind when her family left Kyiv, he knew he wanted to tell her story.
Finding Messi is about the unbreakable bond between a girl and her beloved cat. When Messi goes missing, Iryna rallies the community to help find her pet.
Finding Messi gently explains the impact of war on families. Young readers will gain a better understanding about children around the world who are displaced by war through the story of Iryna and Messi.
