The Ukrainian Family of Liza & Andrew Womeldorf

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, many of us have asked ourselves how we could help those suffering so far away. Last week, we had the privilege of meeting two of Liza and Andrew Womeldorf’s family members who had just arrived in the United States after fleeing Ukraine with only the bags on their backs. Right in front of us was a tangible answer on how to help. Our friend Liza (who was born and raised in Ukraine) along with her husband, Andrew, have been welcoming family into their home since June 2022, as they flee the war in Ukraine. To date, they have welcomed 8 family members (helping them to get set up in the United States) and they will welcome 6 more in January. The Womeldorf's have not only helped their family with the cost of flights, food, and clothing but also work to file the proper paperwork for work authorizations, social security and Medicaid, just to name a few. This GoFundMe is being set up by a group of friends with the desire to help the Womeldorf family as they navigate the unknown expenses and immediate needs of their family as they flee the war in Ukraine. *All the raised proceeds will go directly to the families Andrew and Liza are helping. We will keep it open until the end of January in the hopes that some of the ongoing needs can be met. If you would like to donate in more ways than one, the below conversation with Liza lists their most pressing needs at this time. Please reach out to the organizers of this GoFundMe and we can connect you to the family.

We asked Liza to share some of her story with us, which is shared below.

Can you introduce yourself and your family?

We are Andrew and Liza Womeldorf. I (Liza) was born and raised in Ukraine and moved to the United States at the age of 23, to study at Moody Bible Institute. We met in college and got married in 2014. We have two children, Nolan (2y, 8mo) and Rylee (9mo).

We are members of the South Naperville Campus of the Compass church. Andrew serves on the tech team at church. We have been attending the Hobson and South Naperville campuses for roughly five years and became members at the beginning of 2022.

Can you describe your heart behind helping those who are fleeing Ukraine?

Much of my family still lived in Ukraine at the start of the war. My parents and brothers were already in America, but remaining in Ukraine were my mom's two brothers and their wives and children, my mom's stepmom, as well as two stepbrothers and their wives and children - twenty-one people in total. They lived in Chernihiv, which is northeast of Kyiv. Chernihiv is on one of the primary roads from Russia and Belarus into the interior of the country, Kyiv in particular. Within the first few months of the war, approximately 70% of Chernihiv was destroyed by the Russian military.

Most of them fled Chernihiv to the western part of the country at the start of the war, and many of the women eventually settled in Germany. The men could not leave the country, as martial law kept them there. During that time, they served their country by shuttling children from the war zones to safer parts of the country, and by turning their church basement into a shelter, where they cared for many people. Very recently, the men were able to rejoin their families in Germany, and we have begun to bring them to America, where we can all reunite as a family.

Not everyone fled, and we keep in contact with those that choose to stay in their home and send them resources as they need.

How many friends and family from Ukraine have you welcomed already?

To date, we have welcomed eight people into our home. We have six more coming in mid-January.

When was your first visitor?

We first welcomed my twenty-one-year-old cousin Dasha in mid-June. She lived with us for about a month and a half and then moved in with my parents and brother in Elkhart, IN. There's a large Ukrainian community there, which was more equipped to help to find her a job.

We then welcomed two of my step-cousins, Danik and Pasha, twenty-one and nineteen years old, respectively. They stayed with us, too, for roughly a month, until we were able to secure jobs and housing for them with the same Ukrainian community in Elkhart.

We currently have five people staying with us, which are the family of Danik and Pasha. Their parents Andrii and Olesia, their seventeen-year-old sister Liliia, and their grandparents, Yurii and Larysa. Danik and Pasha have prepared the place they're living in to accommodate the rest of their family. Everyone will be on their way to Indiana early next week.

In January, we will be welcoming my Uncle Misha, his wife Lena, their son Zachar, their daughters Sofiia and Milana, and Lena's mom (who is also Andrii's mom) Tetiana.

Do you have any pictures that you can share of those you have helped out?

Yes, I have attached a few photos of the family that already came (Dasha Starenok, Zheleznyaks, and Cherkashyn) or is about to come (Starenoks).

Do you have any information on the community that is in Indiana?

There is a community of Ukrainians in the Elkhart area, and they have been extremely active in similar work as we have described so far, helping their friends and family still in Ukraine. It's a very tight-knit community, and they are quick to help one another get acclimated to America, by finding jobs and housing, navigating legal matters, and providing a welcoming and familiar community.

Are you paying for flights, food, etc. out of your own pocket?

We have paid for some of the flights to get here. While they live with us, we pay for anything they need, such as food, clothes, fuel, medical, SIM cards for their phone, phone bill, etc...

We have found that our role is best described as enablers. By that, we mean that we have done our best to open doors and offer guidance during their time of turmoil but leave them to make their own decisions regarding where to go and what to do. In that regard, we've essentially offered anything we have for as long as they live with us, and while we get them settled into being able to care for themselves, with no expectation of repayment, as they are starting their lives over from next-to-nothing, and we don't want to disable their ability to start afresh. Some things, they are insistent on repaying us for, such as some of the flight tickets, but our perspective is that this is their decision. We make it as clear as possible to them that we have no expectation of repayment, but if it's something that they feel is important to them and their autonomy, then they are free to do so.

Is there an organization that is working with them? “Unite for Ukraine”?

There is no organization working with them. Uniting for Ukraine is the term ascribed to President Biden's announcement in April that America would welcome Ukrainians fleeing from the Russian invasion. The premise of the program is that Ukrainians arriving here are not Refugees that are cared for by the Government, but Parolees that are cared for by individual American citizens. In other words, Uniting for Ukraine provides a legal path for us, as citizens, to proclaim that we will accept responsibility for individual Ukrainian citizens that we choose to invite.

Uniting for Ukraine began as a statement from Biden, and various government organizations have been working since then to determine what this looks like in practice. As a result, we learn something new about the program seemingly every week. For example, in the beginning, there was to be no eligibility for government-provided benefits. Then, some individual states determined that they would make their state benefits available, and eventually, the federal government decided they would make some federal benefits available.

In that regard, Andrew and I operate as the organization working with them, and we keep as up-to-date on Uniting for Ukraine as we can to make sure that we're providing the Ukrainians with what is made available that they are eligible for.

Can you list the paperwork that you help them with when they arrive in the U.S.? (Work permits, food stamps, etc.)

As of right now, we file for work authorization, social security, Medicaid, cash and food assistance, and complete eligibility requirements as needed, such as blood tests and immunizations.

What are your biggest needs?

Spiritually, we all need prayer for patience and guidance. We are living in close quarters with many people, and there is so much uncertainty in the near term. Please pray for the country of Ukraine. The war is turning into a war against the Ukrainian people - Russia is targeting Ukrainian infrastructure in order to leave the people without basic utilities through the winter, such as heat and electricity. It will be a long and difficult winter for them. See this article from November:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/17/world/europe/ukraine-electricity-water-infrastructure.html?searchResultPosition=2

Tangentially, there are some very near-term things we need to procure, both big and small.

The big one is a car. We have found a Dodge minivan for $3,000 that will be able to transport the whole family in Indiana.

More immediately and on the smaller side, it's important to note that they have left nearly everything in Ukraine. They move here with backpacks and carry-ons and share space in a few larger suitcases. We will need to procure lots of the basics very quickly, such as warm winter clothes, bedding, pillows, comforters, towels, dishes, and silverware, as well as some home appliances such as vacuum, hair dryer, microwave, iron, and a blender. Looking a little more forward than next week, it's hard to make a complete list of what they are missing, but something always comes up.

For people interested in helping tangentially with the spread of small things they need, it may be simpler, both in terms of time and transportation to offer gift cards to stores like TJ Maxx or Home Goods. They will be able to find much of what they need across the spectrum of types of items they'll be looking for from stores like these.

Thanks for any help you can provide!