We Stand with Ukraine!

Hi, My name is Tetyana Davis! I am a first-generation Ukrainian immigrant. I settled in a beautiful Hudson, Ohio and because Greater Cleveland welcomed me with open arms 19 years ago, it has become my home!

 

 

 

Most of my family members are still in Ukraine. I will give more details on their situations after I describe my main ask.

 

My family does not need money. They need things that money cannot buy in Ukraine, like safety, the ability to drive to medical facilities, and the ability to buy food. Every day, I wake up with obsessive thoughts of the ways I can help them? And every day I go to sleep with the same thought. The reality is I cannot help them at all. All I can do is show up for peace demonstrations so we keep the political pressure on our government to not let Ukraine perish.

 

I donated to some of the Ukrainian-aid organizations that popped up on my timeline on Facebook and Instagram. Later I found out that these aid organizations are sponsored by Russians and my money went to the wrong place. It is difficult to trust social media posts asking for money in the era of Russian propaganda and disinformation. I can see the irony here)

 

I asked my sister, who runs the web portal of Slavutich Public Library in Ukraine, about how I can help. Because of her job, she is more connected to the information flow in Ukraine. She gave me two names of people she knows personally who have created private medical field hospitals, one in Kyiv and another in Kherson. My plan is to raise enough money for them to source medical supplies so they can continue providing emergency medical care to civilians and soldiers alike.

 

I know that it is not easy to send or receive money in Ukraine right now and this is why I am doing this campaign. I can safely send money to my sister and she then will distribute the funds equally between these two field hospitals.

Below are the recipients of your help:

 

1. Olena Morozova. She was a director of the "Free Movement" Rehabilitation Clinic and now is in charge of sourcing medical supplies for several field hospitals in Kyiv.

2. Nataliia Bashmakova, my sister. She took on a volunteer position helping local hospitals in Slavutych and Chernihiv.

 

Now, about my family. I promised myself to never ever show the photo below to people. I am a 15-year old awkward teen kneeling down next to my father in a very itchy self-made dress that I thought was a pinnacle of fashion at that time. My three nephews are still toddlers. My great uncle is no longer with us, I still remember his stories of fighting Hitler in WWII.

 

 

My father lives in Chernihiv. The city is under siege with constant bombings and gun battles. My dad's kidneys failed as a consequence of Covid-19. He relies on three times per week dialysis. On Friday, 2/25, he had his last dialysis treatment. They were driving between the tanks but they did make it to the hospital on Friday. Now, he cannot make it to the hospital at all. The roads are either bombed or cordoned off by the Russian military by tanks or land mines.

 

 

This is the movie theater in Chernihiv. I went there with my family the last time I visited. We watched the last Terminator movie. Now it is in ruins.

 

 

 

 

My sister and her family live in Slavutich, the town built for those who remained working at the Chernobyl Nuclear plant after its explosion. It is a quiet and isolated town on the Belarus border. I spent half of my childhood there.

 

 

 

My sister (on the left in the black & white picture) is afraid of nuclear sabotage at the Chernobyl plant. They spend their nights in the basement of my middle school and go to work during the day. The town is quiet, still. There is no food in stores but local farmers who can no longer sell their cows' milk to Kyiv's pasteurizing plant, started donating the fresh milk to the town's residents. The town outsourced most of the medical services to a larger neighboring Chernihiv. All babies were born in Chernihiv hospitals until now. Since, last Thursday, two babies have been born in the bomb shelter in Slavutich. My aunt and my two nephews are also in Slavutich. One of my nephews and his wife are expecting his first child in a few months. baby might be born in the bomb shelter too.

 

My brother (on the right in the black & white picture, and I am the baby) is in Western Ukraine with his youngest son. They are working on putting back online another nuclear plant so Ukraine does not depend on Belarusian energy.

 

My other nephew's fiance is stuck in Kyiv. His heart is beaking from the feeling of powerlessness mixed with outrage at the Russian aggression.

 

I also can barely concentrate on work and everyday life activities. I implore everyone to show their public support of Ukrainians and, if you can afford it, donate to the verified campaigns to help the Ukrainian people withstand Russian attacks.

 

I thank each and everyone who read this long message, came out to a peaceful demonstration, or donated!