Two sheriff’s department search and rescue team members help orphans get out of Ukraine. Lolita Lopez reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Wednesday March 9, 2022.
Two members of the LA County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team have volunteered to help get orphans out of Ukraine, and to families in the U.S. who have been waiting to adopt them.
Assistant Director of LASD Mike Leum and Dr. John Rodarte are working separately with organizations to bring orphans to the United States.
"They identified 19 special needs orphans that are in process to be adopted by U.S. Families that need to get out of Ukraine," Leum said. "We are here to try and make that happen."
They both say that making sure that these children get adequate medical care is a top priority for them.
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"They are really so much in need of medical care. They have basic medical care that is being lost right now because all their caretakers are not able to stay with them," Rodarte said. "They don't have the medicines that they typically need. So, really, we are running on limited time to kinds of get them out and get them out still in a safe manner."
Leum is volunteering because he says these children deserve better.
"For me, I'm going after these kids as if they are my kids. You know, that's the effort I want to put forth," Leum said. "That's the effort that these kids deserve."
