[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 70 (Thursday, April 28, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4580-H4581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE SERVICE OF ELLA AND OWEN ROGERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Bustos). The Chair recognizes the 
gentlewoman from South Carolina (Ms. Mace) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. MACE. Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize and commend two of 
my young constituents from Daniel Island, South Carolina, Ella and Owen 
Rogers--Ella is 14 and Owen is 17--and their efforts in support of 
Ukraine and standing in solidarity with the Ukrainian people during one 
of the toughest times in Ukraine's history.
  They are both descendants of their great-great-grandfather, Joseph, 
who was born in Galicia, Ukraine. Joseph was forced to flee to the 
United States during the early 20th century due to the armed conflict 
between Austrian and Russian Empires trying to occupy the region.
  The story of their family history shows similarities to what the 
world has witnessed in the last few months during the beginning of the 
unconscionable and illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces in 
late February.
  As Ella and Owen Rogers have witnessed these atrocities, as my 
teenage kids who are very similar in age, these kids have seen these 
atrocities; have witnessed these war crimes. They have seen it all over 
social media and television.

  But they have spoken with their uncle recently who had been providing 
humanitarian and military intelligence aid in Warsaw, Poland at the 
time, and they decided the best way to make a difference was through 
providing nourishment to mothers and children who are fleeing their 
home country of Ukraine.
  I was recently in Warsaw and in Poland a few weeks ago witnessing the 
women and children fleeing Ukraine and coming into the country. There 
are millions of families, particularly women and kids, who have been 
displaced because their fathers and husbands and partners are staying 
back home in Ukraine to fight this war.
  But they rallied their relatives, their friends, their neighbors, the 
amazing community of Daniel Island in the

[[Page H4581]]

Lowcountry. Ella and Owen have raised over $7,000 for the World Central 
Kitchen, which is an organization that provides food and nourishment to 
communities around the world in times of conflict, crisis, and war.
  Ella and Owen are just one example of the type of compassion and 
empathy that we see each and every day in the Lowcountry. The great 
people of the Lowcountry show, not only to their fellow citizens, the 
State of South Carolina, our Nation, and around the world, there are no 
strangers they have ever met, and everyone is witnessing great hope for 
the future of Ukraine.
  I hope that the story of Ella and Owen can serve as an inspiration to 
others who stand up for what is right, even when it seems like there is 
nothing that can be done in the face of hardship. They have shown hard 
work; they have shown that we need to do the right thing; and they have 
shown people that they care.
  And now, more than ever, it is important that we do all we can to 
support our friends in Ukraine to help them during this critical 
crisis.
  I again thank the Rogers family and the incredible work ethic that 
Ella and Owen have shown the Lowcountry and the State of South 
Carolina.

                          ____________________