Hey Caddy mini-golf owners fly to Poland to shelter Ukrainian refugees
March was supposed to be an exciting month business-wise for Olga and Andrew Mahler.
The couple had bought a new mini-golf franchise, inspired by Dr Mahler’s exasperation that he never seemed to have enough time to practice.
He left his job as a general practitioner and skin cancer doctor to focus on their new business venture in Moreton Bay, north of Brisbane.
The 18-hole mini-putt experience, Hey Caddy, was built with an “around the world” theme and the launch party date was set for mid-March.
But by then, the Mahlers would already be halfway around the world in Poland, to spearhead relief efforts for blind Ukrainian refugees fleeing from the war.
Ms Mahler, who is completely blind, left Ukraine for Australia nine years ago, leaving behind many friends and family. As Russian forces invaded Ukraine and the shelling began, Ms Mahler was terrified for the blind community.
Without any concrete plans, the husband and wife made the decision to fly to Warsaw with their son. They soon made connections in the not-for-profit space and began providing temporary accommodation, meals and clothing to blind refugees, mostly women and children arriving with harrowing tales of escape.
The Mahlers are assisting with charity efforts to relocate refugees to safe havens including Sweden, Germany and Spain. They are also coordinating the delivery of phones, laptops and Braille readers to those who have fled the country, and those who remain in Ukraine.
“I feel that the war is a robbery of people’s destiny,” Ms Mahler said over email. “It wasn’t their choice to leave their homes, jobs and, in some cases, family members behind and go to another country.”
Dr Mahler described his wife’s level of motivation to help as “visceral and unstoppable”.
Her home city of Kharkiv remains under relentless attack, and her blind and elderly parents have been trapped in their home with minimal food supplies. The school she attended as a child, The School for the Blind, was recently bombed, seriously injuring the school principal.
Tragically, one of her partially blind friends died while defending Kiev, leaving behind a widow and young child.
“The incredible effort that the world is doing to help Ukrainian people is amazing, but nothing in this whole entire world can replace what people have lost, because it was their homeland and their freedom that was left behind,” Ms Mahler said.
Their efforts in Poland have been largely self-funded, although they have received generous donations through their GoFundMe page Help Us Shelter Ukraine.
They are, quite literally, a world away from their new mini-golf franchise, which opened its doors in Brisbane’s North Lakes with 30 staff, who have been donating their tips to the Mahler’s fundraiser.
The family plan to return to Queensland later in April.
