Help Ukrainian Mother and Kids Start a New Life

My name is Mariya Delano and I am raising money to help support the basic expenses for my mother, Krystyna Golovakova, and my siblings who escaped the war in Ukraine.

February forever changed our lives. When governments began pulling out their citizens and embassy staff out of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, I called my mother in tears, begging her to get on a plane and take herself and my two little siblings to safety while they still could. Thankfully, my mother listened and she, together with my brother Peter (15 years old) and my sister Sofia (6 years old) got the first available ticket out of Ukraine.

They packed up whatever they could into just three suitcases, forgetting many valuables behind, and left in a daze. As they drove to the airport, my mother fearfully continued refreshing her email and airport announcements, as by then most airlines had already cancelled their flights for safety concerns. Thankfully, their flight left.

It took a long time to get my family here to me and my husband in the United States. We were lucky that Krystyna and the kids had a temporary place to stay in Athens through extended family, and I managed to secure them an expedited visa appointment at the local US Embassy because of assistance from our local Congressman’s office.

We are so grateful to be able to hug each other in this time, but while my family is physically safe, we do not have the money to cover their living expenses. My husband is a full-time graduate school student with no income, and I only recently immigrated to the United States myself and have not been able to help my family.

Because the immigration situation in the United States for Ukrainians like my family is so uncertain, my mother cannot get work authorization and make any income for the foreseeable future.

That is why I am asking for your help. Please know that we are going to keep all of you in our hearts and we are so grateful to any of you even reading our story. We never would have imagined that one day we would need to ask for assistance like this, but in this difficult time we desperately need anything that we can get.

I can never replace my family’s home back in Ukraine that has been with us for more than 4 generations or replicate the lush forests that adorned all of our childhoods, or erase the fear that my little siblings faced as they realized that they were leaving for more than a two-week vacation.

But I hope that with all of your help, I can at least ease their worries and make sure that they have food on the table, the ability to afford necessary medical care, clean clothes, and a roof over their heads.

Thank you so much for your love and support!