Ukrainian Care Fund

04/05/2022

A heartbreaking story from Alevtina Shvetsova from Mariupol:

“On February 24, 2022, hell began.

I went to the 23rd microdistrict to congratulate my brother on his 12th birthday and stayed there for 13 days.

From Vostochny district, my husband, Boris Shvetsov, had his parents and grandmother moved to the apartment next to the underground crossing (we thank Sergey Makarov for taking grandmother Sveta out of Vostochny).

On the day when the shelling in my hometown didn’t stop for a minute, the windows were blown out and our favorite parrot Chicha died. The children buried her in the yard under a tree, and all of us (two children aged 8 and 12, my parents, Borya and me) sought safety in the center of Mariupol under fire. There was a bomb shelter in a house on Myru Ave., and we thought we’d be safe there.

On March 16, 2022, we reached the center of Mariupol, Myru Ave., 75b.

The house with a clock (a well-known house for people of Mariupol) has become a shelter for many men and women of Mariupol. The place was full not only with people who lived there, but with many others from different districts too. Maria (the head of the condominium) took care of everyone: duty was organized so that looters won’t damage the car; a fire for cooking was maintained throughout the day; there was a friendly atmosphere and warm communication, distracting from the harsh reality. In one of the photos we smile and joke that in peacetime we’ll gather every Saturday for a picnic.

March 16th at 12:30 PM. I took the little ones to the apartment on the 4th floor to get plates for lunch; all of the sudden the house shakes with extraordinary force, the ceiling cracks, there is dust in our nose and throat, and I shout "DOWN, FAST!". I ran first, then the children, mom, men… there was a crowd downstairs, shouting "PEOPLE ARE PRESSED DOWN". Vadym (his feet are covered with ground and bricks) and Galya (unconscious, breathing with blood) are being pulled out from under the rubble.

Boris Shvetsov and other men started clearing debris to get to the people while I took children to the shelter and returned to them. That’s when we saw Vanya. My friendly neighbor, always smiling. We started digging with our bare hands. There was no pulse. A broken body with not a single unbroken bone. In the first photo, a woman sees Vanya 's body.

Galya's husband said that many did not survive.

We left Mariupol on foot that day, and after the shelling of the house it became clear that everyone needed to get out of the city immediately.

In 5 minutes, we decided to walk to Melekino. Boris Shvetsov, his parents, and grandmother grabbed their backpacks at once, while my parents and brother… still remained in the basement under fire.

My mother has back problems, and she said she just can't walk. My brother and father said they wouldn’t leave her alone. It’s a painful memory, but we had to leave. I was crying incessantly. After all, we were under fire, with the sound of attacking planes. However, more than walking like this, I was afraid that I would never see my mother, brother, and father again.

From the underpass we went down to Primorsky Blvd., headed to Pishchanka (Mariupol beach). Everyone was motivated by Borya’s 78-year-old grandmother. However, it became clear that we wouldn’t reach Melekino that day. Instead, we got to Pishchanka around 4 PM where Tatiana sheltered us for the night. Elena from "Dolphin"(café on the beach) fed us.

In the morning we hugged Tatiana and went to the road across the cliff, walked past the Russian checkpoint, and moved to the Portovske village.

There was not a single second that I didn’t think about my relatives left in Mariupol.

When we entered Portovsky (a village occupied by enemies), I saw Denis Bolgarov first (he worked for the studio "Morning of Mariupol"). When I asked if he knew someone who could help get my family and others out of Mariupol, Denys told me "I went there three times yesterday, maybe I'd go today." I begged him to take me with him, and an hour later he called and said "Let's go."

We crossed the bus station at Mariupol’s entrance and drove to the registry office. Denis said "quickly!" and I ran to my home’s entrance. There was smoke around and the city was on fire. I was afraid there would be no one to safe…

I opened the door to the basement… and there they were, my relatives with frightened eyes. I said “THREE MINUTES, MOM”…and in a moment grabbed some bags and just jumped out to the street – and suddenly the shelling began. The guns are being fired at the Registry Office.

We miraculously hid in the entrance of “Zhemchug” (a jewelry shop) while Denys was hiding in a neighbor’s entrance, his car’s glass everywhere. Ultimately, we managed to break out and return to Portovsky village.

I’m just so glad my family is in a safe place.”

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To continue supporting families like Alevtina’s, please consider joining our Ukrainian Care Fund family by donating below:

https://www.uacare.org/

03/18/2022

Our first attempt to cross the border with Poland started on February 26 from Lviv. We were 5 women and a 2-year-old baby. We decided to go on foot so as not to stand in a car in line for a week. But when we found out that the distance to be covered was 32 km, we immediately changed our plans. My niece and daughter returned to Odessa, and we went.

So, we started our journey! We managed to walk 17km to the ATB supermarket. The people of the local villages were very helpful. We were fed, given hot tea, and moral support. There was still about 15 km to the border with Poland, the control point is Shegini-Medyk. And then, as if by magic, a minibus with volunteers stopped near us and offered a ride to the border. Thus began our 9-hour wait for customs control at -3 degrees with sleet from time to time, without food, water, and the presence of a toilet. But everyone around us was positive, in an atmosphere of mutual assistance and understanding. All mothers with children were let through without a queue. As soon as we crossed the border, we immediately felt the kindness and hospitality of the Polish people. Hot food, drinks, warm blankets, transportation wherever you want, free accommodation for the first time. In total, our journey took 22 hours. And this is not the most difficult option, as it turned out!

For our children, we chose, as it seemed to us then, an easier path than the one that I did with my sister and her 14-year-old daughter.

My daughter with her cousin and a 2.6-year-old girl were traveling in a hot, 3 times overcrowded train from Odessa to Lviv. The train station in Lviv is so crowded with people that the exit to the city took an hour and a half instead of 5 minutes. Around crying children, tired mothers, a lot of animals that the owners took with them.

When we arrived at the customs point of Krakivtsi, it turned out that there was a queue of 57 buses in front of us, and this is about 2 days of waiting. And then our girls decided to walk, which turned out to be a big mistake. People who have stood in the cold for about 15 hours are already beginning to lose sympathy not only for each other but even for small children. After standing for 4 hours with a 2-year-old child, at the risk of their lives, our children got out of the tired and already aggressive crowd back to the bus.

They started their journey on March 6, and we met in Krakow on March 8. Our little girl slept for almost a day. Now we hope that within a maximum of a month it will be resolved and we will be able to return home, to Odessa.

03/18/2022

This crisis encompasses many things, but on a humanitarian level, we are witness to an entire country encompassed in a war zone. Where more homes and landmarks litter the landscape every day and the words civilian death is inadequate in every way to describe the trauma. The impact on the families split apart and the final outcome of the millions of women and children who have become refugees is unknown.

Already the magnitude of need is overwhelming. More uncertainly lies ahead. However, hope lies with the collective response to suffering.

Just days after the invasion, the Ukrainian Care Fund was formed and was mobilizing. We have already assisted many women and children across the difficult border crossing and are now providing them safe shelter in Warsaw. Our goal is to provide personal assistance to many more during this entire crisis.

Your donation will make a direct immediate difference to those in need. Please join the Ukrainian Care Fund family as we continue to care and provide for these families by donating what you can today:

https://www.uacare.org/

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"We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something."

- Mother Teresa

"We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something."