CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (WKBT) – As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, a Wisconsin woman is helping to build a website designed to reunite displaced Ukrainians with their families.
According to the United Nations, the Russian invasion has forced more than three million Ukrainians to flee to neighboring countries. Many families are displaced because of the chaos.
“And then they don’t know,” Chippewa Falls resident and DeTy.org co-founder Kate Larson said. “Are they lost? Or has the unspeakable happened to them? So, what they need to know is where are you.”
This is where Larson comes in.
At the request of the Ukrainian IT Army, Larson is part of a cybersecurity group that quickly helped build a website to help displaced Ukrainians reunite with their families.
“This team put it together in a weekend,” Larson said. “And that’s a huge, huge feat.”
The website launched just a week ago.
It’s called DeTy.org, which in Ukrainian, translates to “Where Are You?”
“And that’s what De Ty is,” Larson said. “So De Ty is a platform to find you. Where are you? Where am I? I want to be found, or I want to find my loved one.”
The website itself is quite simple. You can type in your own or someone else’s name, and the website will tell you if your loved one has been found.
“(We had) ten thousand sign-ups by this morning, I think,” DeTy.org founder Guise Bule said. “They just keep pouring in.”
It’s known lots of people are signing up, but Bule says it’s unknown how many are reunited.
“We’re a little bit blind right now,” Bule said. “We’ve had a few emails saying, ‘Thank you. I found who I was looking for.’ But we’re still building in the metrics that allows us the visibility, and we’re building in a button so you can click I found this person.”
Bule says the Russians are pouring in violent threats to the platform as well.
“We’re just trying to help Ukrainians,” Bule said. “How could people threaten us with that? It’s just incredible. We just don’t understand.”
Larson assures they are legitimate.
“We’re fine though,” Larson said. “We have a good team.”
Bule says another feature is coming soon called “I Need Help.” It will be available for people who are looking for food or medical care.
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