I am Yulia Kleshneva, our family is from Ukraine, we have been living in the picturesque town of Bar Harbor, Maine, since May 2023. If someone had told us two years ago that we would be living in the USA, we would have called this person crazy. We lived all of our lives in the city of Lisichansk in Eastern Ukraine. We had a house with a beautiful garden, where our daughters Sofiia and Solomiia grew up with love and happiness. We had good jobs and career prospects, our family and friends were nearby. Once in 2014, the war was already knocking on our doors, but the city survived and our little happy world remained twenty kilometers from the military demarcation line.
The morning of February 24, 2022 changed our lives. We woke up to the explosions of bombs and the noise of rockets raining down on our city. In half an hour we packed our things, only two bags, which were supposed to fit our whole life. It was unclear where to go… the whole of Ukraine was on fire. We are with the children spent most of the day and night in the equipped basement, and for three-year-old Solomiia we came up with fun games, distracting us from the terrible roar and shaking of the earth. Every day the situation worsened, the density of the fire was such that there was little chance of leaving alive. We were evacuated to the sounds of the assault on our city by a special train, which was launched from our region. The train carried people from Eastern Ukraine to Western Ukraine, to the border with Europe. These are probably the most difficult days of our lives. In a stuffy carriage designed for four people, 15-20 people huddled together. For safety reasons, the lights were turned off, the children were screaming, all the food was spoiled, and we slept on the floor. Tens of thousands of people crossed the border with Poland at the same time, the Poles threw food and water into the train windows, saving us from thirst and hunger. They greeted our children with toys and sweets at a time when our hearts were breaking from pain and uncertainty.
Then our family lived in Latvia for about a year, in a hostel for Ukrainian refugees. We waited until the last moment for the end of the war and the return home. Meanwhile, our home was robbed and inhabited by strangers. We were running out of money, we could no longer live on standby. And we decided to start a new life. My husband’s friends invited him to work in the USA, and he jumped at the chance to conquer new horizons. We submitted applications for sponsorship to the Welcome NST organization for our family and, lo and behold, within a week people responded ready to help welcome us and our children to the USA. I remember our first online meeting, it was meeting a lot of people. I was surprised, because each of them was serious and was responsible for some area of activity.
I am happy that I now know these wonderful people in person. They bought us tickets and met us at the airport. Before our arrival, a huge amount of work had been done to prepare a house that had everything necessary for life! They assisted us in working with documents and enrolled our children in schools. These incredible people got up early in the morning to take us to various authorities. One family provided a piano for my daughter, and after a year of war she resumed her music studies. With the help of sponsors, I was able to get a license in this country, and the Hancock County NST organization donated a car for our family! We have become full-fledged residents of a city in which it is impossible to live without a car. Looking back, it’s safe to say that we could never have done it all ourselves in such a short time! In addition to financial assistance and support in working with documents, our sponsors gave us a piece of their soul. They let us into their lives and surrounded us with care and warmth. After all, it’s so pleasant and touching when, in a foreign country overseas, someone helps you take care of the tomatoes in the garden or delivers fragrant bread on Sunday morning. Our family recently celebrated our first Christmas in the United States.
These days we send prayers to our relatives in Ukraine and to the wonderful people who helped us feel at home for the first time in many years of war. We are eternally grateful to the Hancock County NST for their teamwork and support for people in need. We are sure that their good deeds will change more than a dozen destinies!
