Dear friends and neighbours,

 

As you may know, we are originally from Ukraine but came to Canada many years ago. We are now helping our friends - two Ukrainian families (2 women and 3 children) who recently fled Ukraine and will be coming to Canada in a few weeks.

 

February 24, 2022 will always be the day of sorrow, despair and sadness for all Ukrainians around the world. The Russian Army invaded a peaceful and independent nation, killing civilians, including children and elderly and initiating a humanitarian crisis that we have not seen in Europe since WW2. At first, our friends did not want to leave and stayed in Odesa for the first two weeks of the war; however, when their children saw missiles exploding in the air and the city got surrounded by multiple Russian military ships, they knew they had to leave.

 

Both Olya and Olena got in a car with three children (16-year old Sasha, and 10-year old Tosha and Alisa) and fled Ukraine. This war has stolen their livelihood and peaceful future in Ukraine. They had to leave behind their homes, lost their established careers and friends and are separated from their husbands who had to stay in Ukraine. After two weeks in Romania, they came to Germany to stay there as somebody we know found two rooms for them to stay in a dorm-hotel for Ukrainian refugees.

 

As a result of the war and continuous stress from the pandemic, my friends now deal with the emotional distress that is difficult to imagine. But Ukrainian women are strong. While waiting for Canadian visas, Olya started volunteering in Frankfurt am Main to help with donations to the Ukrainian Army and they found a kitchen to use after 6pm in the nearest childcare to cook for themselves and others in need. I know both, Olya and Olena, are resilient women and they will be able to regain their strength and build their lives in Canada while waiting for the situation in Ukraine to stabilize, but they need help to settle down.

 

Please help by donating money to support these two resilient Ukrainian women and their children. Our goal is to raise $50,000 which should partially cover the cost of housing, food, and other basic expenses for five people in Canada for the first 6-8 months. All the donated funds will go directly to two families. We will help with air tickets and initial settlement expenses, but your donations will be a huge support. Thanks so much. Slava Ukraine!