Hi everyone,
My name is Andrii Ishchuk
https://www.instagram.com/andriiishchuk1/
I am Ukrainian ballet dancer from Kharkiv and I’m setting this GoFundMe for my family (my mom-Natalia Ishchuk, my grandpa-Mikhail Guzenko, my aunt Yuliia Sanina) that had to leave their home in Kharkiv, Ukraine and escape to Poland because of the Russian invasion and they are currently trying to start a new life.
From the first day of war, Kharkiv has been bombed and became one of the hottest region in Ukraine suffering from severe shelling. I was trying to get my family to a safe place. Unfortunately, it was very hard because their home was very close to the Russian border, so the Russian troops concentrated there and continuous combat activities are still ongoing at this part of the city. My mom Natalia and my grandpa Mikhail with two cats Max and Semion ended up being stuck at their home without the possibility to leave that area. One week later, when they were running out of food and medicines for my grandpa ( he had two heart attacks and diabetes and he is in constant need of medicines) they tried to escape. We found a volunteer who was willing to come to that area, pick them up and bring them to the train station from where they were supposed to take a train to move to the western part of Ukraine. Unfortunately that plan didn’t work. As soon as they were brought to the train station, it was so overcrowded that it was impossible to board the train. My grandpa, who has troubles with walking because of his health conditions, started to feel sick and fainted, my mom had to give up on trying to leave that day and brought my grandpa with two cats to their friends house, which was not far away from the train station. The plan was to take a break for one or two days and try to leave again but unfortunately my grandpa did not feel better, which meant that my mom would have to pretty much carry him and two cats on her own.
After another week I was able to find an organization that helps disabled and elderly people in Ukraine run away from the war. They were able to help my mom and grandpa and brought them across the country to the western part of Ukraine by bus.
Meanwhile, my aunt Yuliia was stuck in the city of Sumy and she was also not able to leave the city for about two weeks until the Russian troops allowed evacuation from the city and she was able to escape with the help of the “Red Cross”.
After all, my family was finally able to unite in the city of Lviv from where my mom, my grandpa and my aunt with two cats fortunately crossed the boarder in Poland and go to Warsaw, where they are currently staying.
Last week we found out that the apartment building where my family lived was heavily damaged, which means that my family has nowhere to come back to.
This war has put my family in a critical situation where everything has become uncertain. They had to leave everything behind and try to start a new life with nothing. The donations made here will help with living expenses for the next 2-3 months, food, clothes, medicines for my grandfather until my family can find a job in Poland and figure things out.
If you are able, please consider donating to help my family.
Thank you!
My name is Andrii Ishchuk
https://www.instagram.com/andriiishchuk1/
I am Ukrainian ballet dancer from Kharkiv and I’m setting this GoFundMe for my family (my mom-Natalia Ishchuk, my grandpa-Mikhail Guzenko, my aunt Yuliia Sanina) that had to leave their home in Kharkiv, Ukraine and escape to Poland because of the Russian invasion and they are currently trying to start a new life.
From the first day of war, Kharkiv has been bombed and became one of the hottest region in Ukraine suffering from severe shelling. I was trying to get my family to a safe place. Unfortunately, it was very hard because their home was very close to the Russian border, so the Russian troops concentrated there and continuous combat activities are still ongoing at this part of the city. My mom Natalia and my grandpa Mikhail with two cats Max and Semion ended up being stuck at their home without the possibility to leave that area. One week later, when they were running out of food and medicines for my grandpa ( he had two heart attacks and diabetes and he is in constant need of medicines) they tried to escape. We found a volunteer who was willing to come to that area, pick them up and bring them to the train station from where they were supposed to take a train to move to the western part of Ukraine. Unfortunately that plan didn’t work. As soon as they were brought to the train station, it was so overcrowded that it was impossible to board the train. My grandpa, who has troubles with walking because of his health conditions, started to feel sick and fainted, my mom had to give up on trying to leave that day and brought my grandpa with two cats to their friends house, which was not far away from the train station. The plan was to take a break for one or two days and try to leave again but unfortunately my grandpa did not feel better, which meant that my mom would have to pretty much carry him and two cats on her own.
After another week I was able to find an organization that helps disabled and elderly people in Ukraine run away from the war. They were able to help my mom and grandpa and brought them across the country to the western part of Ukraine by bus.
Meanwhile, my aunt Yuliia was stuck in the city of Sumy and she was also not able to leave the city for about two weeks until the Russian troops allowed evacuation from the city and she was able to escape with the help of the “Red Cross”.
After all, my family was finally able to unite in the city of Lviv from where my mom, my grandpa and my aunt with two cats fortunately crossed the boarder in Poland and go to Warsaw, where they are currently staying.
Last week we found out that the apartment building where my family lived was heavily damaged, which means that my family has nowhere to come back to.
This war has put my family in a critical situation where everything has become uncertain. They had to leave everything behind and try to start a new life with nothing. The donations made here will help with living expenses for the next 2-3 months, food, clothes, medicines for my grandfather until my family can find a job in Poland and figure things out.
If you are able, please consider donating to help my family.
Thank you!