Please support Ukrainian family separated by war

In this photo, you see my family who appears to be happy, smiling on a warm and beautiful day outside of their home in L’viv, Ukraine; perhaps they are celebrating a holiday or birthday, or simply making new memories together. But little did you know, they are masking their true emotions, feeling an enormous amount of pain, reliving trauma for the last invasion in 2014, and ultimately saying goodbye as the widowed mother is only able to flee the country with her two youngest children. This photo was taken minutes before my sister in law, Tatiana got in a car with Dmytro (14 y/o) and Veronika (13 y/o) to drive to Poland as their first stop to reuniting with us in San Diego. Hours later, 3 rockets landed on this street leaving Katya (23 y/o) and Nikita (20 y/o) to hide in shelter and hope for the best. My goal is to raise $10,000 to help support my family and reduce the unprecedented financial burden of separating them in order to seek their safety and opportunity to live life. 

Sadly, this is not the first time these siblings have had to say goodbye. When Putin last invaded Ukraine in 2014, they were living in Donetsk. Tatiana had no choice but to send Katya and Nikita on a 24hr train ride across the country to live with their grandparents, my in-laws in that apartment seen in this photo. For two years, this family was separated and did not know when they’ll see each other again. It was also during this time Tatiana had lost her husband and became a single, widowed mother and ultimately, the only provider for her children. They have healed as much as they could, strengthened as a family and unfortunately, reliving that trauma today. 

With love and support of our friends and family in San Diego, Ukraine, Germany and Mexico, we were able to help Tatiana and her kids arrive in San Diego and to live with us. With your kindness and generosity, you too can support our family by donating to help fund:

• Their transportation - gas, plane tickets, car rental, hotel and food
• Clothing - they arrived with only one backpack each
• Basic needs - we now have a household with 4 adults, 2 teenagers, 1 child and 1 baby with only 2 incomes
• School supplies - Dmytro and Veronika will be going to school here
• Support for Katya and Nikita - we will be sending them money for groceries and housing 
• Immigration - filing fees and lawyer if needed