Emergency for a Ukrainian family in Las Vegas

On 24 th of February 2022 at 0500 in the morning my city in Ukraine was invaded by a much larger country, Russia. My children awoke to a country at war. Sirens were screaming as jets flew overhead bombing my country. People panicked as no one thought that in this modern era war would come. Texts were sent “leave children at home and hide behind walls…War started.” This was the day when our world turned upside down, Fear, panic, and we were petrified. We had thoughts of what we should do to react to this invasion. We had to make decisions as to whether to stay and live at home, risk travel and at the end, where to go. Home is what we knew. Our business was here. We knew we had to help our countryman, our country. Schools closed. People were trying to get out of the country, businesses went empty, no one was buying anything, particularly property values sank. All during the day, city sirens were blasting, and rockets, bombs, and saboteurs were all around. There was no electricity. Prices for just the cost of living were higher than ever before. The situation changed after my son, for the first time in his life, started crying, sitting in the basement and shaking hysterically from fear. He asked me, “mom will we die now?” After hearing the explosions of rockets near the house, I had to decide. The next day, a rocket landed next to our house. I said to myself, I can’t risk the children’s lives anymore. I must leave. I gathered all my savings, and we flew to the USA from Poland. We took our Doberman dog, and we came here. We have the feeling of security but not the feeling of home anymore. Suddenly we had lost everything we had worked for. Suddenly we lost our family, friends and our home. We lost our independence. So many horrible things we and the children saw. There were dead people, and children dead in cars, and bombed houses and all the while we were running to avoid the rockets. No words are sufficient to describe our horror. And it is impossible to forget. Even here my daughter, when she sees military plans flying overhead begins to cry, hide and scream mom we didn’t run away, they came here to bomb us! We can never be the same family again. However, we are in a new country and have new people. Our nerves are ruined. Coming here as a refugee requires many steps, each requiring paperwork and we do not know what to do without help. It is hard to be a refugee. It is not a simple process to apply for asylum. Our friend bought a house and leased it to us. We have agreed to buy the house after the lease is up. Only since we moved in have, we felt like we have a home. There are great people here who have made us friends. Americans are amazing. All my life I have helped people. And I helped people till the end when we came to America. I had been volunteering in my country. But right now, I need help and I have come to ask for some help. We must buy this house from the lease in a year. I need to be able to make a down payment. Both my husband and I are hard-working. But we are not making enough to cover expenses currently. We simply do not have the opportunity to gather the amount of money needed during the year's lease.

On top of that, we have several expenses such as monthly lease payments, car payments, bills and many other things related to our children’s needs. My husband and I also need specific appliances in order to get our businesses running. My husband is a professional handyman and car detailer.

Only my husband was able to start working. I am a licensed permanent make-up artist in Ukraine; however, I have been waiting for a couple of months for my work permit.

We would appreciate any help. God bless you all who pray for our country.

We also have our interview on FOX5 Vegas.