pokane’s Ukrainian community is coming together to help their brothers and sisters devastated by Russia’s invasion.
They are gathering physical goods and donations that will get sent overseas to help fleeing refugees and those on the ground fighting.
The Emergent Warehouse in Spokane Valley is one of the multiple locations across the country where people are gathering donations to help ease the pain of this crisis.
Decades of Russia-Ukraine conflict is playing a role in why they are pushing to make a difference.
Tanya Wann calls the Inland Northwest home; it is where she raised her kids, but her heart is with her homeland.
“My uncles live in Kyiv and he says it’s devastating right now. They can’t get food, the only place they can get bread, they stand in line for four hours,” she said.
She is one of the people here in Spokane gathering donations. She says it will make a difference even if the conflict ends tomorrow.
“We’re looking into rebuilding cities and towns - it’s going to take a long time. So, any help, will be really, you will show support to Ukraine with any kind of help, even if it will take longer to get there,” Wann said.
Sergey Topik knows the history of his country. Russia starved Ukraine in the 1930s when it was part of the USSR.
“They would force people to make the food and not let them eat it, which is why a lot of people ended up starting to be involved with cannibalism and that’s a historical fact, that Ukrainian people would eat each other just to survive,” Topik said.
The devastation of Ukraine right now is reminiscent of that history.
“There’s like a big mob there. There’s no toiletries, there’s no water, there’s no nothing, just people trying to get out of the country,” Topik said.
The face of crisis is uniting a community.
Spokane Pediatrics is also collecting donations in an effort to help.
“Anything, anyone in the world can do is something and if one package gets to one family, then that is one step to helping someone get out or stay and survive,” said Dr. Kimberly Grandinetti.
Donations gathered at a variety of sites will be dropped off to Meest a boots-on-the-ground organization with a base in Federal Way.
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