Gala and her family are safe in the United States.
In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine, and again in February 2022. The war displaced families like Gala’s, who came to America with her husband and young son.
“Our home was invaded in 2014, and since then we’ve been moving,” Gala said. “My son just turned 11, and all his life he’s been moving, he’s never had a home because of this war. We lived with my husband’s parents after the 2014 invasion. When Russia invaded again, we fled for our lives. It is unbelievable how willing people are to help strangers.”
Europe couldn’t offer shelter or security. Her family could not work in European countries if they did not speak the language. Gala said she felt blessed to come to America. “It was as if God opened the gate to safety for us. In Ukraine, you were always a target. It is a relief to not live like that anymore. I’m so thankful my family can be part of such an amazing community.”
Locals helped them adjust to life in the U.S. “Everything was so new to us,” Gala said. “Some neighbors told us to ask volunteers at their church for help, leading us to SVdP at St. Isidore. They helped us with food, clothing, with finding a car – I can’t say enough about how much the support helped us find our feet.”
“It’s hard to be away from your home country,” she said. “The people at SVdP have treated us like family, volunteers even bought my son tickets to Disneyland for Christmas. It’s the one thing my son wants to do since coming to California. We want to be good, productive Americans, we work and we are paying taxes. Everyone has been so kind and we want to repay that with everything we have.”
