Help a Ukraine Mother & 2 Children In San Jose

Hi My name is Meaghan Karabatsos, I’m setting this account up with my friend Paulina Wojick. We met a Ukrainian woman and her two sons at a local park.. here is her story and how we can help this family.

Mariana Harmash is a lawyer and her husband is a judge in Ukraine. Together they have two sons Dairy 2 And Vladyslav 9.

Against the advice of friends and family who thought she was over reacting, Mariana fled Ukraine with her sons on literally the last flight out. She came to stay with a Ukrainian friend in San Jose. Her husband is still in Kyiv and helping fight against the Russians.

She has enough resources for about a month ($1500 in cash, and it doesn’t seem like she can get any money out of her Ukrainian bank account now). In 30 days her living arrangement will also no longer be available.

Mariana speaks just a little English, and is here on a tourist visa, her oldest son also has US citizenship.

Here are some ways we can help Mariana’s family…

1. Find legal and government resources for her to find more long term assistance (traditional asylum is not an option for people fleeing war, and the US doesn’t have any details on how they plan to help Ukrainians right now) If anyone would like to donate their legal expertise to help her please let us know.

2. Money to secure a a temporary living arrangement (or government provided living arrangement if we can get that for her)

3. Money for food, clothes, and general living supplies.

4. Money for programs for her children. As mothers, Paulina and I have a lot of empathy for how traumatizing this must be for her children. We would like to help send her oldest son to Tai Kwon do (something he did back home). Or her youngest to “Little Gym” class… something to keep their lives “normal”.

5. Resources to find a schooling/tutoring program for her children. I’m not aware of a Ukrainian school in San Jose, there is one is San Francisco but I don’t think that’s a realistic option.

6. Resources or information on how we can get Mariana a job. (Might require legal help, she is here on a tourist visa, so technically she can’t work). Back home she was a lawyer …

7. Resources for transportation, bus/ VTA pass, Uber gift certificates

We are putting this together pretty quick, becuase her situation is very serious. We will add updates here as they come.

100% of these funds will go to Mariana’s family. I know a lot of America’s want to help Ukrainian’s and this our chance to directly help a family in need. Thank you for reading, caring, donating and sharing this story.