NORTHAMPTON — Community members got a chance to hear the stories of Ukrainian refugees who fled their homeland following the outbreak of war and have resettled in western Massachusetts, as part of a fundraiser held at the Florence Civic Center on Monday evening.

Organizers of the event included Karen Foster, the vice chair of the City Council, and Kate Geis, a local documentary filmmaker. Foster was inspired to hold the fundraiser after her children befriended the children of one of her neighbors, Olena Sarapulova, who escaped Ukraine to the United States via Poland and now lives in Northampton.

“An opportunity to help people who had left the war kind of dropped into my lap,” said Foster at the fundraiser. “It’s been a long, dark winter in Ukraine. There’s been a lack of infrastructure, lack of aid, as well as the ongoing war. We just passed the one year mark. So this seemed like a great opportunity to bring people together to meet some of our own neighbors.”

Video clips from various news sources from Ukraine depicting destroyed buildings and dead bodies were played for those who gathered at the civic center as a way to show the dire situation in the country since it was besieged by Russian forces since February of last year. Russia continues to occupy several eastern regions of Ukraine.

“Our goal today is to try to help people who have had to turn away from their family and land, who have landed here, often through a stroke of luck, because not too many people have been able to come to the United States,” Sarapulova said. “A lot are still in Europe, a lot are in different countries and have different opportunities.”

Although Sarapulova’s daily life was upended and she had to flee her country, she was fortunate; she was already a dual Ukrainian-American citizen and had friends in the United States who could help her resettle and find work.

For other Ukrainians such as Anna and Misha Ostrovski, who now live in West Springfield, the journey to the United States was much more difficult.

Speaking to residents using Sarapulova as an interpreter, Anna Ostrovski shared her and her husband’s journey of escaping the country. Anna was eight months pregnant when the war broke out, and the couple fled along with their family.

The family entered the United States via the Mexican border, with Anna giving birth shortly after. The couple has since relocated to West Springfield, though has had difficulties finding work and reliable housing.

But despite the family’s numerous obstacles, Anna said they were happy to be in the United States.

“There are many opportunities,” she said through Olena’s translation. “I’ve always dreamed of giving my kids swimming lessons, and I can finally do that here.”

Donations from the fundraiser could either go to a GoFundMe to directly support the Ostrovskis, or to United24, a fund created by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. An additional fundraiser is also planned for Sunday at the Allsport Arena, and will feature a dodgeball tournament.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.

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