Summit Family Welcomes Ukrainian Refugees, GoFundMe Launched

SUMMIT, NJ — After war broke out in her hometown of East Ukraine, Darina Zhuravska and her seven-year-old daughter Alisa were forced to flee the country.

The mother and daughter spent months traveling across Ukraine, and eventually to Italy, until they were finally sponsored by Summit couple Stephen and Diane Kwitnicki who welcomed them into their home.

This is the second time that Zhuravska has had to flee her country, as she had to escape to central Ukraine in 2014 after a war broke out in her hometown in East Ukraine.

Now, she had to do it all over again when she woke up to explosions while living in Odessa, in East Ukraine, on Feb. 24. Later that same day, Zhuravska received a message from her employer, telling her that the office would cease all business operations, according to Tapinto Summit.

Initially, the mother and daughter fled to the Lviv area in West Ukraine, but when that area became unsafe, they escaped to the Polish border and boarded for several days in a refugee resettlement camp in Poland.

Zhuravska was then able to connect with a Belarus monk in Italy who arranged for them to stay in an Italian monastery. Zhuravska and her daughter stayed in the monastery for three months until they were sponsored by the Kwitnicki family through a humanitarian relief organization, United for Ukraine.

According to a GoFundMe created for Zhuravska, the mother and daughter are grateful to be in Summit and have already "fallen in love with [the] town."

Zhuravska speaks little English and Alysa speaks none, but Irina Schmedes — the GoFundMe creator — said she has confidence that living with an American family will help them learn English in no time.

The GoFundMe was created to help the mother and daughter during this adjustment period and as Zhuravska looks for a job. According to Tapinto, she is looking for pet sitting jobs and has already taken care of some of her neighbors' cats.

More than $7,300 has already been raised for the family, with the goal of reaching $8,000.

You can check out the GoFundMe page here.

"I'm overcome with joy and gratitude," Zhuravska said in a message shared on the GoFundMe page. "I feel like the Universe is looking out for me, and it's working its magic through all the wonderful and caring people that I encounter on my way. I'm so thankful to each and everyone of you for caring about me and my daughter!"

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