Support for Ukranian refugee family

My name is Robert Knowlton. This is a request for support for a Ukranian refugee family.

I wanted to help a family displaced because of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. I grew up in Montreal and remember my mother telling me when I was an infant, in 1956, she heard Hungarian families had just arrived in Montreal fleeing the Russian invasion of Oct. 1956. She told my father "Jim, I'm going downtown to get a Hungarian family.' And she did. She taught us all the importance of being a humanitarian.

I heard about the humanitarian program set up by President Biden called U4U. United for Ukraine. Individuals who could sponsor a Ukranian family for what is called Temporary Protected Status. After researching and connecting with a few possible families I could sponsor I connected with Roman, Natalia and 10 year old Oleksandra thinking they would be a good fit. I have added a note from the family about their background below. They have been internally displaced since the 2014 invasion that took place in the Donbas region at the same time as the Russians invaded Crimea.

There was a lot of work to do to make this sponsorship happen. I found a 3rd floor in a friends house and he allowed me to renovate it so it was suitable for a family. A new kitchen, 2 bedrooms, living room and bathrooms and some scrounging for furniture... the space was ready. After lots of paperwork and many delays the Omelchenko family arrived; Roman in Newark on August 5, Natalia and Oleksandra flew into JFK. Aug. 14.

It has taken a lot to make this happen and we have come to a point where we need financial help from others. The Omelchenko family needs support for 4 to 6 months until they can get on their feet. Roman is a family physician, Natalia a gynocologist, endocrinologist and neurologist but they cannot practice medicine here. They are looking for work in the medical field [medical research maybe] as they persue certification of their medical licenses here, which will take time.

We have, in a short period, been able to get Oleksandra settled in school in Chestnut Hill at Our Mother of Consolation. The school has been very supportive, generous and welcoming. A 6th grade student, Oleksandra has good english comprehension and her vocabulary is getting better daily.

Roman's English is quite good and Natalia's is fair and is coming along. They also all speak Ukranian, Russian and Spanish.

We have worked out a budget for expenses for food, rent, transportation etc. and they have and will receive some SNAP benefits and Medicaid thanks to the generosity of our country. But that doesn't cover a lot of things.

I am asking for your support in either a one time contribution or a monthly contribution for 4 to 6 months. I can't imagine what it might be like to arrive in a new country and new city where you know no one, have no money except what we have been able to contribute, and with so many hurdles to getting established.

All funds will go to support the Omelchenko family as they integrate into our community.

Thank you for reading this lenghtly request.

Robert, Sandra, Joe and Janie.

Here is a note from Roman and Natalia.

A family of 3 from Ukraine (Roman, Natalia and their daughter Oleksandra, 10 years old) is looking for support for the first months of their stay in the USA.

Let’s immediately make a reservation that we have four children in total, but the eldest son is of military age and therefore remains in Ukraine in Kyiv. The eldest daughter, 23 years old, left for Britain in 2022 in connection with the war in Ukraine, studies there and works as a translator. The middle daughter herself went to Ireland at the age of 16 in 2022, because she graduated from school and it was Ireland that provided Ukrainian applicants with the opportunity to study freely at universities. She passed English at C1+ and is now a psychology student at Trinity University (Dublin).

Our family has been refugees for the 10th year. We have not had our own home for 10 years now. In 2014, we were forced to flee from our home city Donetsk to Kyiv due to the start of Russian military aggression in eastern Ukraine. It was very difficult for us, we were especially worried about the psychological state of the children, especially the younger daughters – we suddenly left home, relatives, friends and all our property... Donetsk has been occupied by Russian troops for the 10th year.

In Kyiv, we didn’t have our own home, but we had work, our daughters had school and other activities, and we made new friends. In February 2022, a full-scale war began, and from the first days of the war, Kyiv has been under constant shelling; adults and children have to hide in basements and bomb shelters. Electricity, water supply and heating were often cut off...

In May 2022, the town of Liman, Donetsk region, where we had an our second home, was occupied. In October 2022, Liman was liberated, but our house was destroyed, everything around was mined, and currently, access to the city for civilians is closed due to constant shelling, and lack of electricity, water, gas, and heat.

You've probably heard that it's dangerous right now throughout Ukraine. But the eastern regions bordering Russia are constantly suffering the most. Here are links to the latest news from our home region - Donetsk region. This is a zone of active hostilities, where there is constant shelling, people are dying, and there is a lot of destruction: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0y5VfwfU9PvAK9W4La1iCZtfXhDTmpwmxQXcfgUpgpFVks1dDd5QeZY4QkCDgcMFKl&id=100063439046051 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02WRdEJuwEjUDAnZQKFWp8AWeQTiqx6GkTUBdhJSFU9TroBhe5A79BYQSH2GW2tuyGl&id=100063439046051 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02WVfa3BDoEwZeyhXovA5B6YMhVrQAohK3jBSv2HwKszP29K4mqnhSDHsAWTZRJmT2l&id=100063439046051

We could not stay in Donetsk because of our pro-Ukrainian position. Natalia has been a member of the public council under the Donetsk Regional State Administration since 2012. At the meeting of this council in February 2014, she spoke out for a united Ukraine and against Russian aggression. After that, she was beaten and received blunt trauma to her kidney, which led to complete rupture of the kidney with a hematoma. Then there was an operation and the kidney was partially restored, but its function can no longer be fully restored. Roman was the initiator of the creation of SCOAB (Society of Co-Owners of Apartment Buildings) in Donetsk and in 2014 he began to repeatedly receive threats from militants and demands to provide access to the roofs of high-rise buildings to install firing points there. They threatened our entire family, including our children. So in Donetsk we are on the “black lists” and there is no way for us

to get there until the city will be liberated from the occupation. In addition, all these years, water has not been pumped out of the underground mines, which sooner or later will lead to an environmental disaster - some areas of the city may simply collapse. After all the fighting, Ukraine became the most mined country in the world - not only because of the mines themselves, but also because of unexploded shells. This means no parks, no visits to cemeteries where relatives are buried, no trips to nature. In addition, information about the burial of radioactive waste in mines has been repeatedly leaked. So there will be no return to Donetsk.

In Kyiv, from the first days, we were engaged in protecting the rights of IDPs (internally displaced persons) from Eastern Ukraine and Crimea. However, not only IDPs did not receive support from the authorities, but they were subjected to persecution and threats. The persecution especially intensified after we filed a lawsuit against the President of Ukraine Poroshenko for inaction against Russian aggression and its victims, as well as our active participation in legal proceedings to protect the housing rights of displaced persons against the corruption of Ministry of Justice of Ukraine .

In a word, we have nowhere to return. So we hope that we have enough strength to start all over again once again.

Of course, we are determined to work and be financially independent. However, the resource of health and strength is not the same as before. Since 2018, Roman has had partial disability of the second group indefinitely after 6 operations, which does not prevent him from working as a doctor. There is only a restriction on heavy physical work, but office work can be done. His limited ability to work does not create any problems for others - he is self-sufficient. Natalia’s disability has not been formalized due to lack of time - she has renal failure, a secondary wrinkled kidney, as well as bronchial asthma, venous thrombosis and other problems.

We are both qualified medical doctors (MDs) with over 35 years of experience in medicine, but proving our qualifications here is a real challenge. Natalia is a gynecologist-endocrinologist and neurologist; Roman is a family doctor and acupuncturist. We have been working in medicine since our school years - Natalia since she was 15 years old, and Roman since he was 16 years old. We went from working as a nursing assistant to caring for patients, to working as a midwife and nurse in a regional hospital, and then, after graduating from medical university, as doctors (MDs) in large well-known hospitals and private clinics.

Natalia graduated with honors from her master's program and defended her dissertation with honors for a master's degree in obstetrics and gynecology, and then 3 years later she graduated with honors from graduate medical school and submitted a dissertation to the Academic Council for a PhD degree in gynecological endocrinology. She is a member of the European Expert Council on Family Planning and Contraception and a member of the European Expert Council on the health of women over 40 years of age and menopause, International Preventive and Anti-Age Medicine Association. She has developed a personalized integrative medicine approach for the prevention and treatment of endocrine disorders in women over 40 years of age and complications of menopause.

Roman successfully completed his internship and received the title of surgeon-oncologist. Over time, he also completed advanced specialization as a general practitioner and family medicine physician and a reflexologist. In addition, Roman completed courses in sexology and andrological endocrinology, general psychiatry. He now specializes in psycho-emotional, affective and anxiety disorders, psychosomatic disorders, endocrinology, and rheumatology. He is a member of the European Association of Sexologists and Andrologists, international associations of internists, International Preventive and Anti-Age Medicine Association.

Natalia and Roman have registered inventions and published works (articles in scientific and popular science publications). They are participants and speakers at world and international congresses, forums, and conferences.

We would like to start verifying our diplomas in the US right away, and in the meantime find some work in the medical and healthcare field, since verification of diplomas can take years. So, of course, we are looking for work in related areas - medical research or health insurance, medical databases. Maybe in the field of promoting a healthy lifestyle, etc. – depending on what offers are on the labor market. However, to do this, we first need to improve our English - it is in the B1+ region, but this is not enough.

We ourselves have been volunteers since 2014 and participate in the work of public organizations to help refugees from the occupied territories of Ukraine. We provide both humanitarian and legal assistance. We are confident that we could be useful in the field of non-governmental humanitarian and human rights organizations, as well as organizations involved in receiving refugees. Human rights are not an empty phrase for us.

In any case, we are determined to get a job close to medicine as quickly as possible while we pass exams and confirm our diplomas. As already mentioned, we have experience working in public organizations, Roman also knows massage, has a higher education in mathematics, and we both have a more or less decent knowledge of the Spanish language – we hope that this can be useful here.

From the age of 2 to this day, our daughter Oleksandra has not had her own home and constantly moves with us. She changed about a dozen kindergartens and schools, all the time parting with friends. She was under fire, sat in basements during air attacks, and is still afraid of the sound of a siren. The time has come for her to spend at least the rest of her childhood like all normal children.

We understand all the difficulties of starting a new life in USA and are ready for them, but we need your help.

Why we consider ourselves people who deserve to help:

1. We have nowhere to return.

2. We want to give our daughter the opportunity to remain a child until the end of her childhood.

3. Our rights have been violated since 2014; we, like many other internally displaced persons, lost all our property, did not have the right to vote in our country, but were not recognized as victims. For us it is more painful because we realize that what is happening is wrong.

4. For us, the legal environment in society and respect for human rights are of fundamental importance.

5. We have a favorite profession and we are confident that we will confirm our diplomas and be able to work in medicine.

6. We have a sufficient level of English and Spanish to start with.

7. Even without being citizens, we are ready to take an active part in the life of American society.

We really hope for your help, but in any case we will be grateful for any information, support and advice.

Our contacts:

Roman: tel 2158690662, Natalia: tel 2158691357 e-mail: [email redacted]

address: 514 E.Sedgwick street, Philadelphia, 19119, PA