Three weeks into the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian people continue to fight. A West Seattle woman and her sister, who made it out just as the fighting began, are hoping you can help their homeland.

Kateryna Bakay is proprietor of Bend & Stretch Physical Therapy. She came to the U.S. as an exchange student in 2000 and has been in Seattle since 2010, West Seattle since 2015. Her sister Daria lived in Kyiv, the besieged Ukrainian capital, but has been here since March 1st. Katerina explains that her sister arrived “after 6 days of driving through bombings and artillery shootings. She crossed the Hungarian border by foot (could not take her car) and then her friends drove her to Poland, from where she flew to Seattle.”

They are staying in close touch with family and friends in Kyiv, as circumstances there became increasingly desperate, with food and supply shortages: “Some homes have lost heat so people are bundled up with blankets as it’s cold in Ukraine right now. Children are crying as they don’t understand what’s happening and parents are trying to normalize the situation by taking kids outside during non-curfew hours.”

They are raising money to get help to people back home: “The money we are raising will be used to sponsor local volunteer organizations that are on the ground in major cities in Ukraine, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, where people are distributing food and water to old folks who are not able to leave their houses. Another organization is helping local military personnel with basic medical supplies, such as tourniquets and bulletproof vests.” If you can donate, they have a crowdfunding page here.