Ukraine update

Most of our family has made it to Poland or western Ukraine (where it is slightly safer), but a cousin, his wife, and 2 year old are still in eastern Ukraine (Poltava region). They have decided to make a run for it and make the difficult journey west to join the others. It's risky to move and to stay. We are in communication daily and are helping with Canadian visa applications, which is giving them hope.

Over 2.5 million have now left the country, but those are only women, children, and the elderly, as men ages 18-60 cannot leave. Millions of split-up families. Many don't want to leave the country for this reason or don't have the means to get all the way to the border, leaving millions of internally displaced families.

Trusted unbureaucratic organization helping internally displaced people: https://ukredu.org/helpukraine

If you are looking for a way to help directly, I have a family member (the sister of Svitlana Pavlyk, owner of Edmonton's Svitlana's Bridal) who has decided to stay in Ukraine and help out at an orphanage. There are 150 children from 7 to 15 years old. They need pretty much everything. We are collecting funds and sending them directly through Western Union once per week. E-transfer to svitlanasbridal@outlook.com and say that it is "Donation for Orphanage in Ukraine" before hitting send button.