Young Ukrainian family starting over (again)

Young Ukrainian family starting over (again)

We're fundraising for a young Ukrainian family - the father is a soccer coach father, the mother is a contemporary dancer, and their adorable daughter is 18 months old.

They have been living in our home since late February after fleeing Kharkiv with only a couple of changes of clothing. Their close family friend was kind enough to help bring them here to escape the war. (Since the father is originally from Donbas, this is not the first time he’s completely starting over due to Russia.)

They are both working to improve their English, just started jobs here and are looking forward to finding a place of their own.

If you are able to help a young Ukrainian family start over in the US, please consider donating. We hope to raise enough money for a security deposit and the first 2-3 months of rent for an apartment and supplies to get them started.

Here the father tells a bit of their story:

... we woke up on February 24 at 5 a.m. to heavy rocket explosions... my daughter was still asleep... my wife woke me up and said it had "begun"... I didn't believe it... as in 2014... it seemed "impossible"... I left at 5:10 a.m.... went to the gas station, a huge queue of cars and panic, and not understanding what to do and where to run ... no one was ready for that... people understood that there would not be enough gasoline for everyone... but I stood in line for rocket explosions and returned home to my family with a full tank of gasoline. Our apartment in Kharkiv is very close to the ring road near which the Russian troops were standing, so for the next 10 days we sat at home with a 5-month-old child to the sounds of tanks, aviation, and artillery and for about 5 days we had no light or water. Only on March 3, we managed to leave for a safer place and we had to take risks, as the city was completely shot through by Russian troops and everyone risked their lives and the lives of their loved ones when leaving the city. missiles arrive anywhere in the country and people die without even having time to understand anything...

...in 2014 I moved from my hometown to Kharkiv for the first time because of the war in Donbas, now again it is necessary to start life from the beginning for the third time, having already left Kharkiv for Atlanta with my family and a small child...

...this past year was hard for our daughter - moving four times in Ukraine. And the long travels... the first night train was about 12 hours on the way, then three hours later on to a 6 hour train to Warsaw... meeting and saying goodbye to my mother, as she temporarily lives in Bremen, Germany due to the war. then after 7 days the flight to Chicago is 10 hours. After Chicago - Atlanta, a sick mother and daughter endure 2 hours of flight plus a change of time zone. The adaptation of the baby lasted about 8-10 days.

We do not know what kind of future awaits us, but we will make every effort to ensure that it is safe and happy for our daughter, because children are the meaning of life.