KAILUA, Hawaii (AP) — A Ukrainian family who came to Hawaii for a long-awaited vacation ended up watching from the islands in shock as bombs started dropping on their country. Now, more than a month later, they remain stranded on Oahu without access to their house, money, family or friends.
They’ve found support through the local canoe paddling community, which set them up with a place to stay and raised money online to help get them settled. They do not know if they will ever be able return to their home.
Vasyl and Marina Prishchak and their three daughters, ages 5, 10 and 16, arrived in Hawaii in the middle of February and had an idyllic, three-week beach vacation planned before Russia invaded Ukraine.
“This vacation changed our life,” said Vasyl Prishchak, who along with his wife owns a cosmetics company with stores in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. ”We don’t know how we return to Ukraine and what we will do, we will begin from zero, from scratch.”
They are unsure if their house near a military base in Kyiv is still standing and say they are financially imperiled because their family business has been forced to close.
The family had been to Hawaii several times before to visit with longtime friends Borys and Beata Markin. Vasyl and Borys have been friends for about 30 years and are both avid ocean paddlers.
The community has helped the family with everything from schooling and immigration questions to financial help and a place to stay.
Until last week they were staying at a loaned home in Kailua, a beach town on the windward side of Oahu, but family friend Beata Markin said they’ve now secured a small cottage in Kaneohe where the owner is allowing them to stay free of charge for as long as they need.
“They have nowhere to go,” said Markin, who was born in Hungary and has lived with her Ukrainian husband in Hawaii for eight years. “I think it’s our responsibility to make sure they are OK here.”
An online fundraiser organized…
Source : yahoo
