Help Ukrainian family to start a new life

I, Elena Doroshenko-Bonn & my husband David Bonn live full-time in Peterborough, ON with our 6-year-old twins and are seeking your help for our displaced family members.  My sister Olha (47 years old), my sister-in-law, also named Olha (41 years old), and her son, Danylo (12 years old) were forced by war out of their Ukraine homes in the early morning of March 9th, 2022.

With only the clothes on their backs and two suitcases, they managed to avoid Russia’s land cruise missiles, the constant shelling, and the machine-gun fire, crossing the land border of Romania and into Hungary, where they have sought shelter in a village outside of Budapest for the last 2 1/2 months.  Your help will enable our displaced - now refugee family members to establish a new life here in Canada.

Your contribution will help to facilitate air travel to Canada, acquire basic life necessities,  re-establish their careers,  and allow Danylo to have a secure, safe home, who sadly is leaving behind his father, all of his childhood friends, and everything he cherished as a young, bright, vibrate,  enthusiastic 12-year-old boy.        

Please find below a recent picture of my displaced family, their Ukrainian passports, and their story: 

 

 

 

 

Our grandparents told us terrifying stories about World War II, and also the stories about the famine and genocide carried out by the Soviet regime against the Ukrainian people. We listened and thought 'Thank God it’s different now". We were thankful that our generation was safe and at peace – so it was, until the early morning on February 24th, 2022. We never thought something like this could ever happen, certainly in our lifetime. 

Everyone in Ukraine understood there was a risk of a Russian invasion, but the majority of Ukrainians never believed this would actually happen. They thought it was primarily a geopolitical game and there would be a political solution. Historically Ukrainians and Russians have a very tight connection. Many people have relatives in Russia. They couldn't imagine the lives of millions of people all over Ukraine would change in such a significant and dramatic way, as they did on February 24th, 2022. 

My sister, my sister-in-law, and her 12-year-old son lived with their families in the town Vasylkiv, 30 km southwest of Kyiv, per the caption below, it’s a nice, safe, cozy town: 

They lived in a nice house on a beautiful lot surrounded by nature.

 

 

As a family, they enjoyed fishing on their property in the backyard pond. 

They enjoyed their peaceful life.

 

But everything changed 3 months ago...

On February 24th, around 5 a.m. they woke up to the sound of explosions. There is a Ukrainian military base just 5 km away from where they lived. Starting from the first minute of the war, Russians bombarded it constantly, every day, trying to invade the town simultaneously by the air and land. Also, they struck the town with cruise missiles and constant shelling. The walls and the ground shook, the airstrikes were very frightening. By Olha’s words, every time they heard these explosions, the military war planes screamed overhead flying at low altitude, or the sporadic machine gunfire nearby, they were afraid the next minute might be their last. Even in the moment of silence, it was eerily terrifying. There was a constant sense of danger. With Russia’s sequential–advancing bombing, they were certain their house would be destroyed. They couldn't sleep, they couldn't eat. The life they once knew had changed forever. 

 

 

 

 

 

On the evening of February 27th, the Russian forces managed to directly hit the Oil refinery and depot, which is also located nearby. It caused a huge fire and more powerful explosions. The sky was rumbling and black smoke was everywhere. Fighter jets, helicopters, sounds of gunfire, banging, shooting, shelling, the glow from the explosions was relentless.  It felt surreal to suddenly become the main plot in a Hollywood blockbuster. But this was not a movie set, this was and remains the sad and terrifying reality throughout the country. People shudder at every sound, even if it has nothing to do with war, the Russian's totally unjustified invasion of a peaceful nation.  

 

 

Only those who have gone through this can imagine what it is like - to check the news every minute and write to your family and friends every hour whether everything is okay, whether they are safe and alive. All days were the same. It felt like they didn’t know what day of the week it was, they didn’t know what date it was because it seemed like it was one never-ending nightmare. There are stories of unfathomable sadness and suffering everywhere. It’s hard to imagine that in 2022, this horror is happening in the center of Europe. 

They didn’t want to leave their Homeland, they love their country. They lived happy, satisfying, fulfilled lives with family and friends in Ukraine. They had a nice house with a beautiful garden, established careers, hopes, and plans for the future.  And then all this was ruined and taken away from them. Realistically their hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the life they once knew and cherished in Ukraine will not return for decades or at all for that matter. 
 
Our two Olha's and Danylo had to leave their home amongst the millions of other Ukrainians who fled the country, trying to save their lives and the lives of the children. Their husbands and my sister’s son, who is 21, had to stay in Ukraine ready to defend their country and their right to be free. As many of you might know, Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are prohibited to leave the country during the war. They may be called to join the army at any time.
 
As it stands, the two Olhas and Danylo are in Hungary, in a small village near Budapest. They applied for and obtained Canadian visas under the CUAET program (Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel). They are planning on coming to Peterborough, Ontario where I live with my husband and two kids. 

It is a shocking realization for my family to suddenly and unwillingly become refugees, who are now dependent on the generosity of others, they’re no longer a middle-class family in charge of their own lives. Unfortunately, my husband and I are not in a position to be able to fully support them financially and therefore are reaching out to family members, friends, and anyone who is willing and able to support this noble cause. 
 
All proceeds will be used for the following:

- to purchase 3 one-way airline tickets from Budapest to Toronto (we exhausted all avenues for Canadian Government programs and Corporate donations for air travel, including the promising www.uadsc.org program).
- transportation to the airport.
- mandatory COVID testing.
- medical examination required by CUAET visa regulations (within 90 days after arrival to Canada), costs approximately  200 CAD per person.

Also, we would like to help them with living expenses at the start, until they’re able to establish some independence, which entails the basic life necessities, like:

- replenishing their very limited clothing and essentialities, given they left their homes in winter clothing and were forced their lives into two suitcases. 
- transportation costs.
- phone service costs.
- helping to set them up for success by enrolling them into formal learning professional and language programs, focusing on improving their current speaking-writing skills that will enable the two Olha’s to re-establish their careers in Canada in relatively short order.
- helping Danylo to enter grade 7 this coming fall.  We are heartbroken that young Danylo is leaving behind his father, whom he admits is his best friend, in addition to his close childhood friends, sports teams, and all the activities that young boy enjoys – we are determined to help Danylo assimilate to life in Canada by introducing new Canadian friends, to do some activities, like a summer camp, and enjoy a Canadian summer as much as possible given these very unfortunate circumstances that are interlaced with horrific war memories that no one should ever have to endure.   

We foresee 4-6 months before the two Olha’s & Danylo will be fully immersed into life in Canada as we know it – a safe, nurturing, stable life that we are accustomed to in our great Country Canada. 

It is our goal is to raise $12,000 CAD to directly facilitate this great cause.

We greatly appreciate any help, no matter how big or small. Every dollar counts and will make a difference. It's not the amount that matters but the meaning behind your donation. The efforts of one person can't move mountains. But the strength of us all working together can make a big change in the two Olha’s & Danylo’s lives.  
 
Thank you in advance for your help and generosity. Please spread the word if you think someone you know may be interested in helping our Ukrainian family to have a fresh start and a chance for a happy future. Thank you very much.

 
Forever grateful,

 
Elena, David, Olha, Olha and Danylo.