Donate to help my family in Ukraine at war

Hi, my name is Maksym Dedushko. I left my hometown of Chernihiv, Ukraine, at the age of sixteen to study in the US. My family has lived in Chernihiv for generations. Everyone stayed in the city even when the war broke out, with many joining the effort to defend the city due to its strategic location on the route to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Since the start of the Russian invasion, my hometown was bombed and shelled for nearly two months. Although the Russian forces have left our region, 70% of Chernihiv has been damaged or destroyed, including several hundreds of civilian casualties.

 

As a result, most of my family members no longer have jobs and little means to support themselves. My sister Katya's apartment building was hit by four rockets, the structure is condemned (which made into the local news, video in Ukrainian), and she is left without both a job and a home. My cousin Olga's husband perished defending our hometown during an aerial assault. Olga is left a widow with two small children. My grandmother Nina lives just 20 miles south of the Russian border and her village was occupied from day one. She had no access to her pension or the ability to buy food.

 

The funds will be used to pay for the year of 2022 of groceries, rent, and utilities bills of family members who are most vulnerable at the moment so that they can rebuild their lives. Specifically, that includes my mother and father, sister Katya; cousin Olga with her two children, Olga's mother - my aunt - Natasha and her dad Kolya; my grandmother Nina; and grandfather Misha. Our neighbors aunt Natasha and Lyuda, who are helping my mom as volunteers in distributing humanitarian aid, are also included to help cover their rent and food. Other households and monthly expenses are estimated and shown in one of the updates.

 

—

 

We’ve broken down the needs of my family as follows:

Shelter = $4,200

Food = $4,300

Utility bills = $1,600

Child support = $1,200

Home repairs = $600

 

These funds will support all of the family members I have mentioned earlier. A US dollar goes a long way to help in Ukraine. I use PayPal to transfer money to my parents and relatives. Therefore, this support translates dollar-for-dollar into their hands. 

 

Free and prosperous countries are built on sound communities, made up by strong and upheld individuals. Your support will help rebuild people’s lives, which I know will make Ukraine stronger and more resilient in the fight for its freedom. Slava Ukraini!