Hello. My name is Anastasiia. My seven-year-old son and I arrived in the United States from Ukraine after Russian aggression. I will share this story in the bottom and you can join it if would like to know more about us.

 I'm here, because I hope you can help us to solve the problem with transportation. I couldn't buy a car and the city transport is not helpful here. I saved a little bit of money to buy an economical used car, but it's not enough.

My son's school is more than two miles away, and there are no buses to get there. The other places are further. My work permit might be ready soon, but the lack of a car makes it much harder to find a job and get there. So the car is the most important thing now to give me an opportunity to move to a more independent life and get off the life of a refugee, so I will be grateful for any donation!

One night my family woke up because the building was shaking from the blast wave, so next weeks we were hiding from the bombing in a special place. We slept dressed and in turns, because of fear that something would happen while we were sleeping. We almost didn't go outside and avoided the window indoors. We prepared small bags with the most important things to survive, and kept it always by hand. But we still didn't want to leave the country.

My mind was changed after the rocket got the building near our home and damaged the school, which we chose as a hiding place. 

But a long way was ahead. Three days by car, one day by train and bus, five days by flight through several countries - Poland, Italy, Spain and Mexico. Flights made a hurd time for us: one was rescheduled, the next one we lost because of the previous, on another flight the airline sold more tickets than they had, so they didn't have seats for us, the new one we missed because my son passed out and did not come to consciousness. After the last flight ended there was one more day on the border between Mexico and the United States, before we stepped on the land of California. We were standing in the street with non-working credit cards, little in cash, without mobile connection, Internet and understanding what to do.

 But this story is not just about troubles, it is about people's help and kindness as well.

Some strangers called an emergency, spoke with doctors, made a translation, helped with bags, transportation and searching for a place for rest or slip. Other strangers helped to solve problems with tickets, flights and luggage, with non-working bank cards and mobile communications. And when my son and I stood on the street after crossing the border, some strangers took the taxi for us and connected me with one American family, who wanted to help refugees. This family opened their home to us, as if we were their family, and helped us with everything. Many people brought my son clothes, toys, bike, school supplies and gift cards. Yes, it does not compensate for the life, which we last, but we found out something new about the world. So that was not only a trip to America, that was a trip to mercy of the world.

Thank you for reading the story.

Help if it's in your heart.

Any amount will be helpful.