Help for Ukrainian Refugees in Slovakia
Donation protected
We need your help!
My name is Sandra Fasy, I am from Kosice, Slovakia, and I live with my family in New Jersey. My hometown, Kosice, has been flooded with thousands of desperate Ukrainians fleeing the war and I feel compelled to act. Two such families from the Kharkiv area have made it to the capital, Bratislava, after a long 7-day journey in a rickety car, where they met with my close friends Tatiana and Miro.
Please help us in this joint effort in raising funds to provide food, basic needs and long-term accommodation for two families from the Kharkiv region; one with an autistic child and another with an epileptic father. The families are currently staying in a small apartment offered by another volunteer, Michal (white mask in the second picture), who vacated his place and moved in with his parents. However, this situation is not sustainable in the long term. My close friends Tatiana Kleinova (yellow mask in the second picture) and Miro Bystriansky (teal sweatshirt in the first picture) are actively looking for long-term accommodation, daycare services, and jobs for the families and doing whatever in their power to help. The families came with limited cash and whatever could fit into the plastic bag on their journey to safety. They drove 1,200 miles in a clunker that I would be scared to take to a grocery store.
Lyudmila (32) is a single mom, and her boy Alexander (5) is autistic. In Kharkiv, they were actively engaged in speech development classes five days a week. During her escape, Lyudmila joined a young couple, Ivan (27), Anastasia (27), and their six-year-old girl, Maria. Ivan suffers epileptic seizures; therefore, he was allowed to leave Ukraine with his family instead of being drafted.
Here's a shortened version of their heartbreaking story, in Lyudmila's words:
"Artillery began at five in the morning; I grabbed the child in panic, managed to take only my documents and money and went to hide in the subway, where we stayed a while. Naturally, sitting in the subway wasn't a long-term option, and the shelling continued, so we decided to take a train to my hometown of Izyum, where we thought we would be safe. There is nothing military in it but a small contact lenses production workshop. On the third day, planes flew in a began to bomb Izyum. I met my now-friends Ivan and Anastasya, with whom we lived in the cellar for some time as the city had no water, electricity, nor gas. We were afraid to go outside in the yard. We cooked on the fire. After the constant shelling finally stopped and volunteers said the track was safe, we left the town heading west while constantly fearing for our lives. Later updates from friends showed videos of the house with a hole in the roof, broken windows, gas and water pipes. On day 6, we made it to the Slovakian borders. We slept at a police station in Michalovce and got registered. On the seventh day, we traveled to Bratislava, where we had a contact for Miro."
All the adults are immensely grateful and determined to find a job, even Ivan, despite his handicap. The accommodation we are looking for must be in Bratislava (as opposed to cheaper locations on the outskirts) due to the availability of services for autistic children. Monthly costs run approximately 800 Euros ($875) for the most affordable two-bedroom apartment and 500 Euros ($550) a month food for all 6. Alexander needs a specialized daycare for autistic children, which is not free. Many other families are on their way, many others who need help. We hope to raise enough funds to help more families. The temporary refuge houses provided by the government are inadequate and getting overfilled. It’s a disaster being relieved mainly through ordinary citizens who donate food, water and other humanitarian aid and, in many cases, provide accommodation to complete strangers.
If our fundraiser goes beyond expectations, funds will be donated to "Kuchari bez Hranic"- Cooks without Borders, a volunteer organization active at Vysne Nemecke and other border crossings. It is the only organization that has been continually providing warm meals to thousands of cold and hungry people at the borders. They are comprised solely of volunteers who are taking off work and traveling from other parts of Slovakia (and the Czech Republic) to partake in this mission. They rely exclusively on donations. More on www.aregalaslovakia.com
In the past, I have organized humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees. I will cover all gofundme fees and ensure every dollar donated is used towards DIRECT help. We are all volunteers dedicating our time and resources... Because we owe it to humanity. And because every little bit counts!
You can google my past endeavors under "Sandra Fasy Syrian".
Organizer
Alexandra Fasy
Organizer
Upper Township, NJ