LIRS

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WE STAND READY TO WELCOME REFUGEE FAMILIES AND CHILDREN FROM UKRAINE -
LIRS

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Dear LIRS Supporter,

Irina was working as a kindergarten teacher in Kyiv when news started
to spread about a possible Russian invasion.

"They were telling us that there might be a war coming, but we
didn't believe it," she said.
Still, she began preparing for the worst. At school, she practiced
going down into a bomb shelter with her students.

"We would take the children to the bunker and tell them that it
was a magical castle so they didn't get scared," she
remembers.

Then the bombings began-and the journey down to the bunker was
anything but a game.

"I saw enormous fear in their eyes," she said, with tears
in her own.

Irina and her students survived, but they could not return to school.
Though she wanted to stay behind in Ukraine and volunteer, she was
forced to flee. The journey was dangerous and difficult, and lines to
cross the border stretched for miles.

 

Fear in their Eyes | Irina Flees Kyiv

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Hear more of Irina's story and the support LIRS provides
refugees like her in this video.

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Donate Now

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"In Lviv, we met this woman who was pregnant and had two
children," Irina shared. "She was scared to cross the
border. We decided to do it together. We prayed to God and he gave us
this miracle we crossed the border [into Poland] in just 40
minutes."

Irina then flew to Tijuana, Mexico, where she waited with Ukrainians
and thousands of others at the United States border amid makeshift
refugee camps and improvised shelters before finally arriving in the
U.S. She then made her way to Massachusetts, where she was met by
members of the LIRS network.

"It was not easy, but I still want to thank you all on behalf of
all my nation," she said. "We are super grateful to the
volunteers who gave us food and clothes. It's just that the process
itself of getting here was extremely difficult."

With the help of LIRS and its partner Ascentria Services for New
Americans, Irina has received gift cards to buy groceries, been
provided with English language-learning opportunities, and received
cultural orientation. Her long, difficult journey has ended, at least
temporarily-but there are still thousands of other refugees
fleeing Ukraine for the United States.

Your support helps provide refugees from Ukraine with food, clothing,
temporary housing, and other critical needs in their first days in the
United States. Please make a gift today to stand with those seeking
safety and a new beginning.

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Many of us don't have family, home, or work anymore," Irina
said. "We're sincerely grateful for any help that you give
us."

With deep gratitude,

Krish
Krish O'Mara Vignarajah
President & CEO








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State Disclosures
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700 Light Street · Baltimore, Maryland 21230 · Phone:
(410) 230-2700
tel:4102302700

· Fax: (410) 230-2890

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