When Kateryna made aliyah (immigration to Israel) to Israel in December of 2021, it was the middle of the school year for her daughter, Oleksandra. Not wanting to uproot the 8-year-old girl unnecessarily, Kateryna’s parents offered to let Oleksandra live with them while she finished up her academic year. This would give the child some stability while Kateryna went ahead to find a community in Jerusalem, start her new job, and set up a home.
“Those were very scary days,” she said. “I was terrified, listening to the news constantly, speaking to my family, and trying to comfort them during this horrible situation. I was looking for any way to get to them and to take my daughter out from the danger area. However, during these long days, it was impossible to get to Ukraine. Together with my parents, we decided to wait a bit until things would calm down a little, and it would be clearer about how I could journey there.” They finally decided to meet in Odesa, a city that, at the time, wasn’t as dangerous.
The trip to get there was harrowing for Oleksandra and her grandparents — filled with soldiers and checkpoints and fear. Then, shortly after Kateryna met up with them, the bombing of Odesa began. “It was a very scary experience,” she told us.
“Even in the middle of the night, once the siren alarm started, my young daughter and her cousin were running and screaming that we need to run and hide.” It broke Kateryna’s heart to leave her parents behind. Her father couldn’t leave, and her mom refused to leave her dad. Together, the family agreed that at least Kateryna and Oleksandra should get out. Kateryna later wanted us to pass his message to our supporters:
“I want to thank everyone at The Fellowship, from the bottom of my heart, for all their help with my aliyah and rescue journey. I want to thank you for all the necessary assistance and attention that I and my little daughter Oleksandra received during this terribly difficult situation.”
“On the morning of February 24, we heard loud explosions in our city, Mariupol. By March 6, Mariupol was surrounded by Russian forces. We tried to escape, but all of the exits from the city were blocked. Within days, we lost access to water, gas, and electricity.” - Natalia
Natalia and Sergei were in touch with the local synagogue, which was helping with evacuations. But the only way to communicate was to go there in person since the phone lines were down. Sergei and his nephew Nikita made the trip, but there was another attack on Mariupol.
Shrapnel from a missile killed Sergei on the spot… “I lost a good husband and Yelyzaveta lost her beloved father,” says Natalia.
Just two days later, the family evacuated. In May, Natalia and Yelyzaveta boarded a Fellowship Freedom Flight and arrived in Israel. The support from The Fellowship continues to this day.
“We had nowhere to live in Israel. The Fellowship found us temporary lodging in Jerusalem. Thank you for taking care of us in our time of need.”
