Hi, my name is Tyler. My family is attempting to bring a friend's family, caught in the war in Ukraine, to the US.

 

Vadym was a roommate of my nephew. He came to the states on a visa to attend school in rural Minnesota. He later returned to his home in Ukraine and became a professional seaman. He married the love of his life, Alina, and settled in their hometown in southern Ukraine. Vadym was at sea when the war broke out. Alina was eight months pregnant and was living with his parents.

 

When Vadym was back at the port in Poland, he managed rides to the Ukrainian border with the kindness of strangers. He then made his way south with a friend, avoiding the battles along the way. My sister kept in contact with him daily via text messages. Alina was due soon but didn't want to deliver their baby in the hospital because of the ruthless Russian army and their known bombings of hospitals in Mariupol. They had enough food stored up for about two months but were running low. She had a healthy, beautiful baby boy on March 20th. It's unclear if she had him at their home or the hospital.

 

Vadym made it approximately 30 miles from his home but was stuck there for weeks because of all the fighting. He's been fighting along with other Ukrainian soldiers. With the help of his unit, he was able to reunite with Alina and the baby, his mother and mother-in-law. His unit crawled to a specified meeting place along the ground, where they were reunited with them with the help of a partisan group. His father stayed back to protect their property. Vadym and his unit were able to get them out of danger, and they are now staying at a refugee camp close to the Polish border. The facility is housing 80 families. It has five bathrooms and one kitchen. They are sleeping on cots. The baby is having some stomach issues and cries often. Vadym is heading back to continue to fight for his country.

 

My sister lives in northern Minnesota and has three empty bedrooms. Our goal is to raise enough money to get his family to Minnesota. The money raised will be used for flights, US immigration paper processing, clothing and supplies for the baby.

 

Please help us get his family to Minnesota and help them recover from the trauma of this terrible war.

 

Thank you.