Help Juli Bunchak and Friends in Ukraine

Update 11/26/23

When I woke up yesterday I heard the news that Russia had launched its biggest-ever drone attach on Kiev. I sent a message to Juli to find out how she and her family are. She said that this attack is the worst they'd experienced and that she and the boys had spent two nights in a shelter. In addition, the heating to their apartment has been knocked out for four days and it is freezing.

It's hard to know how to respond to her. I plan to send her some money for Christmas. Also, I'm gathering well-wishes for her. She said in our TV interview how encouraging it has been to be in touch with me, to know that their country has not been forgotten by the rest of the world. To that end, if you have any words at all of hope and encouragement for her, please add them here and I'll make sure she gets them in a format that will work with Google Translate.

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Update 7/26/23

Here's the link to the story from WAOW. Great job, Wyatt!

https://www.waow.com/news/top-stories/wausau-woman-raises-money-for-twin-in-ukraine/article_e7d70688-2808-11ee-a8db-2be3a35df3d8.html

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Update 7/20/23

I lot has happened over the past two weeks! USA Today/Gannett Wisconsin did an article about me and Juli (that you, Keith Uhlig and Sue Weinlein!) that got published across the state, even on page 3 of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel! This gave a big boost to donations. THANK YOU to all of you who have contributed. Here's a link to the article: https://milwaukeejournalsentinel-wi.newsmemory.com/?publink=18677b2ea_134ac5b&fbclid=IwAR2_FyZ-Xd7UL9FUXFstQgMOGYs2kj73oUtGp8K1j2WJa4_wPzp_zW1Fh4c

On Tuesday of this week, Juli and I got to talk to each other for the first time! My husband's cousin's wife, Ina Riehle, interpreted for us. It was so amazing! Juli is just as generous and kind-hearted as I had hoped. She talked about her husband, who is still at the front, her older son who has not yet been drafted, and her two little boys, who were away at summer camp. That struck me as bizarre, that in the middle of a war kids are still going to camp, but then I realized how much you would want to keep as much as possible normal for kids. Juli's son Timur is actually at a camp in Greece, where they welcomed Ukrainian kids to get them away from the war. In Kiev, Juli and the boys have to go to a bomb shelter regularly close to their home.

Juli also shared that she is helping friends who are still in Kherson and elsewhere in the country. That is why I upped the goal for the campaign. Donations are not going to just one family, but are going throughout the country.

Finally, Juli, Ina and I are going to be interviewed by the local ABC affiliate tomorrow! I'll be sure to share the link here.

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Update 5/23/23 Russian attacks on Kiev have intensified these past weeks, so I've been checking in with Juli. The big news from their family is that they have taken in a seven year old boy, Igor, from their hometown, where his mother and grandmother were killed. Igor and Juli's ten year-old son, Timur, go to school during the day, but every night since August 30 they have been sleeping in shelters. Here's a photo she shared of the boys in a shelter: Juli's husband continues to serve at the front. In Kiev she tells me that when electricity or water service go down they do come back on quickly. If you've been following the news, you know that the Ukrainians have been using Western air defense systems to take down Russian missiles. This is all going on right above Juli and the boys' heads, daily! Not surprisingly, she says they are mentally and physically exhausted. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Several years ago, in a fit of boredom, I decided to search Facebook for any other Julie Bunczaks who might be out there. There were none with my exact spelling, but I did find a Juli Bunchak. I sent a friend request and she accepted. I had this vague idea that she was "somewhere in eastern Europe." She didn't post much and we didn't interact at all, but it was fun knowing there was someone out there with my (kind of strange) name. Last February, shocked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I decided to investigate her location more closely. She was in Kherson, Ukraine, the very first city to be occupied by Russians. I reached out to her to find out how she and her family were and what I could do to help. Her reply described something like a scene from a war movie. The FSB (formerly KGB) had raided her house, taken all her family's electronics and money, smashed their belongings and demanded to know the whereabouts of her 22 year-old son, who was, safely, elsewhere. Juli and her 7 year-old son, Timur, left, with thousands of other refugees, for Budapest, while her husband stayed behind with his mother. Her husband went on to enlist in the army. Juli and Timur then headed to France, where the welcome for refugees was warmer than in Hungary. In late summer/early fall, they returned to Kyiv, where they are able to see her husband occasionally. She has been very quiet about her older son, undoubtedly to assure his safety. In Kyiv, Juli has reunited with some of her former colleagues. She is the technical director for a theater in Kherson. The group wrote and produced a play telling the story of the horrors that had been happening in Kherson. The proceeds from these productions are sent back to their colleagues who are still there. One member of their company and her husband were killed in the shelling. Kherson was liberated in early November. Good news! But, not really. The Russians continue to bomb the city, leaving many dead and wounded, with virtually no health care. The Russians have destroyed electrical, gas and water utilities, leaving people in dire need of these very bare necessities. And also it is winter and it is cold and snowing. This is actually going on all across Ukraine, not just Kherson. Juli says that Timur has half his school lessons in a bomb shelter. So many times since I started corresponding with Juli (on Facebook Messenger, always through Google Translate, which isn't always great), I've been struck by the absurdity of my own life compared to hers. My family reunited this year at weddings and gatherings at the cottage, while hers was being flung far and wide. I got irked last week when our internet went out for about two hours, but she deals with disruptions to her communication every single day. A lot of us in the Midwest are looking at the winter storm heading here and are frustrated about how it might mess with our Christmas plans, but at least we have heat and electricity! The amazing thing about Juli, as well as some of her friends who have also reached out to me on Facebook, is their absolute devotion and conviction that Ukraine will be victorious. I predicted several months ago that Time Magazine would choose Vlodymur Zelensky as their Person of the Year. If you've followed this war even a little bit you know that the Ukrainians are defending their country and beating back the Russians with everything they have. So, from the comfort of my intact, heated, high-speed internet-connected home, having just stepped out of the shower and before I make dinner and do a thousand other things that I completely take for granted, I'm making this appeal to you to support the "other Juli Bunchak" and all Ukrainians with your prayers and also your dollars. These funds will go to Juli, to share with her friends still in Kherson and also in Kyiv. They will help people get access to the most basic necessities. And they will let these Ukrainians know that they are still on our minds and in our hearts.