Help a Mother from Ukraine who Lost her Family

My name is Eveline Levin, and I'm a filmmaker originally from Kyiv, Ukraine. Like myself, many of you are probably looking for a tangible way to help those in need in Ukraine right now.

I created this fundraiser to help my mother’s close friend Svitlana Zheldak.

 

On March 3, 2022 a Russian plane dropped multiple bombs on private houses in Chernihiv, Ukraine. That night, Svitlana lost her grandmother, 41-year-old husband, 14-year-old son, 21-year-old daughter and her future son-in-law.

Svitlana and her surviving mother were able to evacuate the ongoing horrors of the war-torn Chernihiv. They're now in relative safety in Western Ukraine.  Please consider making a donation to help this family cover their basic needs.  Anything helps. 

 

I attached Svitlana's story below.

 

“We were home when my husband told me the war had started. It was terrifying, but we thought it would be over quickly. We discussed it with the kids and decided to stay at my mother’s house for the duration of the war. It had a stronger structure, so we thought we would have a higher chance of surviving there in case of rocket attacks.

 

We packed the essentials and headed over. There was a cellar outside, so initially, we would go there for the air raids. My son developed horrible asthma attacks, and no matter what we did, they only got worse, so we decided to stay in the house between the two load-bearing walls. My son’s asthma continued flaring up from sleeping on the dusty floor. That night, he was suffocating from another attack, so he went to sit in the living room.

We heard the air raid sirens, but nobody heard the planes coming.

Suddenly I heard a loud bang, and the entire house collapsed, trapping us in the rubble. My husband was just a few feet away from me. My daughter and her fiance were lying on the floor across from us. Barely reaching their legs, I was begging them to hold on. My daughter started sobbing uncontrollably. I could feel her fiance’s legs twitching - he was dying. I told her that we would all be saved soon, that there were voices echoing from up above. I screamed as hard as I could, but she didn’t make it. My husband was near me, buried and pinned beneath the rubble. I could hear him gasping for air. My son suffered a severe head injury. Rescuers pulled him out, but his heart gave out before they could save him.

My mom was changing my grandma’s wound dressing in another room. Grandma didn’t survive, but my mom was pulled out alive.

 

We also have a puppy. I had just bought him for my son’s birthday. We both really wanted a dog. My husband would joke with the kids saying, “mom just bought herself another son.” The puppy survived with me.

 

The three of us have evacuated to safety. The day before evacuation, I saw my daughter in a dream. I asked her if I should leave or if I should stay.  She pointed towards a path filled with light. I left the next day.”