Two Ukrainian moms. One ocean between them.
Lidiya lives in Kansas. Victoria lives in Ukraine. Through circumstances out of their control, their lives became intimately intertwined.
When Russia attacked Ukraine, Lidiya was safe at her home in Kansas with her family. But it didn’t seem right just to sit there, so this teacher and homeschooling mom helped evacuate vulnerable people and learned to source gear and medicines for the military remotely from the US. Victoria was attending a professional training in Kiev when the bombing started. She texted and called family and friends to say goodbye before she started back to her village in Western Ukraine. After a two-day ordeal, she made it home, and her family is safe. But amidst the uncertainty of a life at war, she saw her sons start to withdraw, especially the young teen.
That’s when Lidiya set about learning a new skill: funding teenage exchange students. Along with Victoria’s son, she has placed almost a dozen Ukrainian teens around Kansas City. This story of two moms shows how war touches on every aspect of the lives of everyday people. It shows how, in Lidiya’s words, “If you put your mind to it, you can do anything.”