Help my mom and grandma live through the war

Hi, my name is Lena and I’m fundraising money to help my mom Viktoriia, 64 and grandma, 83 live through hard times.

Kharkiv, Ukraine - my hometown, is currently besieged by enemy soldiers and bears one of the heaviest fighting burdens in the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. Heavy artillery, including missiles, are striking civilian buildings - killing innocent people and damaging city infrastructure. My very own family was in one of those buildings, sheltering in its basement, with limited supplies of key necessities, and limited ability to procure them. My family was in the epicenter of a rapidly evolving humanitarian crisis.

I was able to evacuate them from Kharkiv on March 3, they traveled 19 hours by overcrowded evacuation train to Lviv, western part in Ukraine.

On March 5 they left Lviv on the bus which dropped them off on Ukraine-Poland border. They were standing 6 hours outside, it was a cold night -4C (24F), in a line of thousands of people. I can’t imagine how hard it was for my 83 years old granny. Then after crossing the border they traveled 11 hours by car from Meduka to Gdańsk within Poland. To be continued…

Now I need to find housing and pay for their new life wherever it will bring them.

I live in New York for last 10 years, I don’t have a green card and wasn’t able to leave States to see them since I arrived. I had a good job as a QA Engineer till February 15, when my EAD (employment authorization document) expired. USCIS failed to renew it on time. Now I live on my limited savings.

I’m determined to support my mom and grandma while I can but I predict that it won’t be long.

I never held a fundraiser before and I only ask to give as much as you can and only if you wish to help me.

I will use the money to find housing for my mom and grandma and fund basic necessities.

I want to express a deep gratitude to anyone who wants to help. I believe in karma and kindness. Also that giving provides even more endorphins than receiving.