‘I want to help’: Jackson Packer briefly steps into the world of the refugee

Jackson Packer admits he has lived a life of privilege and luxury. And for much of his 14 years, the heir to the Packer family fortune has also lived a very private life.

But he has now stepped into the world of humanitarian work and has, albeit briefly, had a chance to see the world through the eyes of those far less fortunate.

Erica and Jackson Packer at the UNICEF play and learning hub for Ukrainian refugees in Straseni, Moldova.Credit: UNICEF

This month, the teenager travelled to Moldova with his mother, UNICEF Australia Ambassador Erica Packer, to see the work being done to help refugees from the war in Ukraine.

Jackson was born to Erica and ex-husband, billionaire James Packer, in Sydney. He’s the second of three children, and has grown up in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, home to many of Hollywood’s megastars.

He likes basketball and spends his spare time doing puzzles or Lego. In many ways, he comes across as an ordinary teenager, and convincing him to travel wasn’t a hard task for his mother.

“When Jackson is older, he knows he will be able to help people in many ways. This visit has been an invaluable experience for my son and for me to demonstrate to him that philanthropy is a value I encourage,” Erica said.

He sat down with me, alongside his mother, in his first public interview.

Erica and Jackson Packer at the UNICEF play and learning hub for Ukrainian refugees in Straseni, Moldova.Credit: UNICEF

The lights and the cameras didn’t seem to bother him, even though family holidays have sometimes resulted in paparazzi shots appearing in magazines or tabloid newspapers.

Jackson is now speaking with his own voice.

“I want to have an impact on people’s lives. I don’t want to be just another cloud in the wind. I want to help people, even if it’s just a little bit to make people’s lives a teeny tiniest bit better,” he said.

He’s fully aware his life is unusual for most children, and in Moldova, it metaphorically hits him in the face. “You definitely want to help out. I had so much growing up I’m so thankful for that,” he said.

Erica says she has tried to keep life simple for her three children, Indigo, Jackson, and Emmanuelle.

She’s been an ambassador for UNICEF Australia for 16 years and said Jackson wanted to gain “first-hand perspective and experience of what UNICEF is doing on the ground, and this trip has provided him with an educational experience that, I think, will stay with him for a lifetime”.

“Australia is a privileged country compared with many other countries, and our family is in a fortunate position,” she added.

The Packer children are heirs to a family fortune that is worth billions.

Erica with her children, Indigo, Jackson and Emmanuelle, and their father, James Packer, in Aspen in 2017.

UNICEF says the Packers are part of an expanding group of Australian philanthropists who are bringing their children into the world of helping others.

Emily Gribble, UNICEF Australia’s Head of Philanthropy, said: “We are increasingly seeing multi-generational giving, and there is a strong commitment among Australia’s wealthy families to turn family wealth into generational philanthropy.”

Last year, Australians donated $60 million to UNICEF Australia. Globally, UNICEF has an International Council made up of 135 philanthropists from 21 countries. Collectively, they have donated more than $510 million.

Increasingly, high-net-worth individuals like Erica Packer are encouraging their children to become involved in philanthropy.Credit: UNICEF

“We are seeing young adult heirs and heiresses starting their own philanthropic ventures with their inheritance. They act as drivers of global change for children by advocating for UNICEF and amplifying our work,” Gribble said.

That work extends from the conflict zones of Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan to places affected by devastating disasters.

As Ukraine marks two years of the war with Russia, new figures highlight the impacts on children.

Over the past two years, UNICEF estimates children in frontline areas of the war have spent the equivalent of up to seven months in shelters as a result of air raid sirens.

The organisation also says damage to school buildings in Ukraine means 40 per cent of the country’s children cannot access education.

Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, and the bombs are still falling.Credit: AP

Of the tens of thousands of refugee children in Moldova, less than 2,000 are in some form of schooling.

At an early learning centre on the outskirts of the Moldovan capital of Chisinau, Jackson met 5-year-old Arteom, who fled Ukraine with his mother.

“It definitely has an impact on you,” Jackson told me.

Members of UNICEF’s team in Moldova said they were at the border within days of Russia’s invasion to help.

Viktoria is among those who crossed from Ukraine. She is a mother of eight from Odessa who adopted her sister’s two children to keep them safe from war and domestic violence.

Erica Packer meets Viktoria in Chisinau, Moldova.Credit: UNICEF

We met her at a health centre for refugees. One of her children has Down syndrome, another has heart problems and will require surgery.

Viktoria said even in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, she could still hear the Russian bombs falling on the city she fled. And they landed there the night before. Her husband told her. He is still there.

She said she suffered from depression for three months but felt she had to just “stop it” for the sake of her children.

“It’s not good to show your sufferings to children; why do I need this crying and suffering? I don’t want to show these feelings to my children,” she said. “Why should I suffer, because my children will also suffer if I continue with my depression. That is why I just found the strength to go on.”

“These were not easy times for me. Sometimes I miss my home. Wherever you go, you want to go back home,” Viktoria told me through a translator.

UNICEF says that by the end of last year, it had helped 1.3 million children and parents victims of the war in Ukraine get mental health support.

Three hundred and fifty thousand women and children also received medical help, and 76,000 households were financially supported.

“These kids, they’ve been stripped to have nothing. It’s just better if we could all share what we have and make life a little bit easier,” Jackson told me.

Olena, a mother of four, also travelled from Odessa in early March 2022, just days after the outbreak of war.

“It’s very difficult for me to remember that time really because I was under deep stress, I felt in some panic,” she said.

Olena was emotional as she described the fear she had then and the fear she has now for her 16-year-old daughter, who has returned to Ukraine to study to become an artist.

Olena is an educator for Ukrainian children at an early learning centre in Chisinau supported by UNICEF.

Her youngest child has anxiety and screams negative things about Vladimir Putin.

Two years after escaping to Moldova, Olena wants the fighting to stop so she can return home. “I think it’s my biggest dream to return,” she said.

But two years into this war, the fighting continues, and there’s no sign of peace.

More help is needed.

UNICEF says this year alone it will need $580 million just to support victims of the Ukraine war.

Jackson Packer also wants to go back home to tell his friends that everyone can help.

“This trip really shows how people are out here, and they need help and I want to spread that message, that these people need help, you can make a big change by donating just little amounts of money. These things really matter”.

Jonathan Kearsley is the Channel Nine US correspondent. He travelled to Moldova and Copenhagen courtesy of UNICEF AUSTRALIA.