Hi, I'm Loni and I am raising funds for my extended family who had to flee Ukraine due to the war and come to Canada.

They are - my uncle Igor, my aunt Olha, and my cousin Natasha.

Beginning on the first day of the war the part of Kyiv suburb that the Sereda family was living in has been heavily bombed. They were evacuated from their home in the middle of the night, and spent 72 hours inside a makeshift bomb shelter in the tunnels of the Kyiv subway. After 3 days they were transported to Poland overnight in the dark. We invited them to stay with us for the duration of the war and help them settle in Canada should they have no home to go back to in the end.

Igor suffers from a severe form of Parkinson's, and due to their abrupt departure he was not able to bring medications with him. We had to get them here as quickly as possible in order to be able to provide him with medical help. The current process in place takes months, and we had to hire legal help to expedite the process. We are still waiting on medical coverage for him.

My parents graciously offered their basement apartment to them free of charge, and friends and family have donated clothing and basic necessities. However, the apartment was not furnished and not set up for someone with disabilities. We need to buy additional furniture for them, as well as medical assistive devices - bed rails, wheelchair, walker, as well as install safety devices in their bathroom. They will need these assistive devices before Olha can start working so she can feel safe leaving Igor at home.

Olha is eager to start working as soon as possible, and is currently taking English lessons as well as working on getting a valid Ontario driver's license.

We have spent most of our savings on tickets, medications, immediate necessities and part of the legal fees. This fundraiser will cover the remainder of the legal fees, medical assistive devices for Igor, driving lessons and tests for Olha, furniture (currently they only have beds), phone plans, transportation for Olha once she finds a job, transportation for Natasha to get to school, and other immediate living expenses. Any money not used for these expenses will be put into a fund for Natasha's post secondary education. She is currently in the process of finishing high school and is a talented animator/artist. We are looking at art colleges however she is not elligible for student loans or the reduced fees for permanent residents.

The amount is an estimate of the remainder of the fees and the cost of the assistive devices, but anything you can donate helps and would greatly improve their quality of life.