As the war drags on in Ukraine, two years after the Russian invasion, Zion and our community can take some comfort in having made a positive impact on the lives of six families who have escaped to the safety of the United States. The families include twelve adults and six children. In most cases, they have found employment and are adjusting reasonably well.
Thanks to the generous contributions of Zion members, Zion Foundation, St. Francis Xavier, Rotary, and others, over $17,000 has been contributed and over $11,000 has been distributed since our efforts to help Ukrainian refugees began in June 2022.
Our support has included assistance for travel, food, housing, phones, appliances, and computers. Most recently, we provided rent and food for one of the families who got caught without a paycheck between jobs.
We have not been official sponsors of any of these families until recently when Dirk and Sue Foster (with Zion’s support) agreed to sponsor Mariia Manusova and Yevhen Scherbakov. This couple is the parents of a family who arrived in September of 2023. They received authorization to travel to the US on Feb 5, 2024, and will fly from Poland to Minneapolis on March 17.
We thank you for your generosity, prayers, and support of these families who escaped the ravages of war but now struggle to adjust to a new life in an unfamiliar country.
