WEST CHESTER — A family of four has fled war-torn Ukraine and landed in the borough.
Shanya and Matt Kane have thrown out the welcome mat and sponsored a Ukranian mother, her two children, and her mother. Her husband stayed in Ukraine. The family arrived on Monday.
The Mykhalchuk family left a city that is near the Russian border and under daily Russian attack. The family escaped from what was Ukraine’s second largest city, and where there is now no public water and no electricity.
With limited English and through an interpreter, mother Halyna talked about living with war.
“We can’t imagine,” she said. “It’s very scary.
“We can’t believe it. It’s impossible.”
Halyna worked for 10 years in sales and marketing and has a college degree in economics.
She talked about the daily missile and bombing attacks that sent the family into windowless shelters many times, while seeking some safety. She also said that people are dying daily.
Halyna and her husband took two-hour shifts sleeping, to keep up to date on the news.
For two months, the family moved west to a safer refuge, but returned to their hometown, despite the increased risks.
“It wasn’t life,” she said. “All we did was eat and sleep.
“We couldn’t work and the kids were not in school. No conversation, no friends, no plans, while not understanding the future.
“The people (in America) are very friendly. They smile and help you, they are very good people. And there are a lot of dogs.”
When back at home, Halyna helped as a volunteer to bag and deliver medicine to those injured during the war.
Tears fell as Halyna talked about leaving her husband who she has been with for 16 years.
Her children’s father is not legally allowed to leave the Ukraine since he could be asked to serve in the military.
“It’s very hard to be without him,” she said. “It was a very hard decision to leave my husband.
“In Ukraine, my children didn’t have a future. I need to give them more. He understands that he has to stay back.”
Matt Kane talked about the father, Viktor, still in the Ukraine.
“In our eyes he’s a hero because he’s making a great sacrifice,” he said. “It still makes us cry.”
Vova is 14 years old and his first day at Henderson High School is Friday.
He loves the infrastructure in America and nature, while noting that it is so green here, like a park.
Eleven-year old Liza doesn’t know yet which school she will attend. She said she likes everything and wants to mix with friends in-person and not just online friends.
Everyone was relaxed and comfortable. Grandmom Natalia Stepanova was pleased to eat carrot cake for breakfast. Liza and her mom are learning to play pool and Matt Kane smiled when he said the child is a better player.
The immigration process through Welcome.US, a program designed to match sponsors with people fleeing from war, took just over three months to bring the family here.
The Kanes got started volunteering at a Ukrainian cultural center filling boxes with food, clothes and supplies for refugees.
“We said, what else can we do?” asked Matt Kane. On a single Sunday, St. Peter and Paul Church parishioners donated $30,000 in cash. The parish also filled 110 boxes with goods for Ukrainians.
Kane said to refer to the family as humanitarian parolees, and not refugees.
Through the internet, the Kanes hooked up with 30 families seeking to move to West Chester. The Kanes were looking for a family unit. Since the Mykhalchuks were located in a high danger zone and the Kanes could handle a family of four, the Mykhalchuks were offered the sponsorship.
Everything was approved on both sides by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Homeland Security authorized the travel.
The family took trains and buses, which took 36 hours to reach Hungary, flew to Frankfurt and then onto Philadelphia.
At the end of the two-year program the family can go back to Ukraine or apply for asylum and a path to U.S. citizenship.
The family will have an interpreter nearby who understands both languages. Shanya Kane’s parents fled the Ukraine during World War II, and after two years in Germany, settled in Stowe, West Pottsgrove Township, Montgomery County.
“My first language hasn’t been used in a while, but it is about to get a workout!” she said.
Her father was a cantor in the Stowe church and was church choir director. He performed those duties in both Stowe and Phoenixville where he was choir director for more than 50 years. He then lived in Phoenixville and worked many years for Phoenix Steel.
The Kanes said that the process went smoothly and they encourage others to consider sponsorship.
To support the family, go to the Go Fund Me account at gofund.me/3f258bbd .
Source: Berkshire mont