You can be the difference for a family!

Today we are asking humbly for help for a Ukrainian family who have fled their home to come to the US with nothing.

Valentyna Igor and their two children Vilina (14) and Ivan (3) were a traditional family living in Odessa Ukraine. Valentyna a dentist and Igor also worked in the dental industry, they had a home and a life in their country. When the invasion started they were forced to take their children to Moldova and leave them with their family in Maldova to return home to their house. Igor and Valentyna stayed in their home over the next few weeks to try to defend their property. They spent many nights sleeping under the house and sheltering from the explosions that could be heard surrounding them.

As the war was becoming more dangerous they made the most difficult decision to that any of us would struggle to make. Packing up a small bag and leaving everything else behind, their home, their belongings, the life they lived and their country in search of safety and an unknown future. They retrieved the children and fled to Romania. In Romania they learned that other Ukranians had been able to cross into the US through the border at Tijuana. Valentyna’s sister Olga and her family live in the US in Tennessee. Valentyna and her family only speak Russian and the journey would be difficult without assistance. Plans were made for Olga to fly to San Diego and cross the border into Tijuana to meet up with them at the airport in Mexico and bring them to the border. At midnight on 3/24 they arrived into Mexico and Olga was able to meet up with her sister and family. She brought them to the border and they waited for their turn to be processed. Thankfully they called their name and allowed them to pass and now they start a new journey here in the US with only a few belongings and 1 year refugee status.

The flights from Romania to Mexico were very expensive and the flights from San Diego to Tennessee were also very expensive as nothing could be arranged in advance everything must booked at the very last minute. Everything paid was from Olga’s family and what their close friends and family could come up with to get them to the US. They start a new life here with nothing, they have housing with her sister but almost nothing else with them. Any help that anyone can give will make a difference.