We Stand With Ukraine

Alisa Yeremenko, 12, looked up from a table outside the school cafeteria. In front of her, dozens of students were waiting in line to buy bracelets, pins, and magnets. The items were adorned with sunflowers—the national flower of Ukraine—or the country’s blue-and-yellow flag. Alisa and her friends had organized the fund-raiser at Ryan Gloyer Middle School in Harmony, Pennsylvania, to help raise money for the people of Ukraine.

In late February, Russia invaded that Eastern European country, launching attacks on military bases, hospitals, and more. Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed and at least 10 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes. 

“It’s just crazy there,” Alisa says. “Everything is bombed.”

To Alisa, Ukraine isn’t just a country in the news—it’s her homeland. The seventh-grader was born in Ukraine and moved to the United States in 2020. Many of her friends and family are still there, living in danger. 

This past December, Alisa and her mother visited Ukraine. Alisa stayed with her grandparents in Mariupol, the port city where she grew up. She ate at her favorite restaurants and hung out with her friends. It was just as Alisa remembered. 

Today, however, Mariupol is a very different place. The city has been destroyed. After weeks of bombings by the Russian military, apartment buildings like the one Alisa grew up in have been reduced to rubble. 

“I didn’t know it was going to turn into a different world,” Alisa says.

As of late March, about 100,000 people were trapped in Mariupol, many without food or clean water. Alisa hadn’t heard from her grandparents since March 1. Almost all communication with the war-torn city was cut off, so she had no way of knowing if they were safe. 

But Alisa knew what she’d say when she talks to them again: “I love you and can’t wait until I can hug you.”

Alisa’s classmates Annika Kyyashko, Walter Killey, and Daniela Tyrpak know how she feels. Each has at least one parent who was born in Ukraine, and they all have friends and relatives there. The students wanted to help the people of Ukraine. But what could they do from thousands of miles away? 

In March, their principal, Anthony Babusci, came up with the idea for the fund-raiser. The students hoped to raise a few hundred dollars, but they pulled in more than $5,200. The money will go to Unicef, an organization providing food, water, and other supplies to kids in Ukraine.

“It went beyond our expectations,” says Annika. “It was really nice to see that.”

While they are happy to have helped, Alisa and her classmates just want the war to end. 

“My greatest hope is that the country will be restored,” Alisa says, “and that people can go back to their normal lives, with no more war.”