Another great piece of writing. Thanks for including the go fund me link. I sent in a small “howdy” so they know we all care. Please do a follow up story and make sure they see your article! Hey guys, welcome to America! How can I help you! :-)
empathy for this family but being a empty nester and older with less patience I couldn't put myself and husband thru this. Kudos to your friends but sooner or later the welcome wagon wheels will fall off.
Fortunately they have marketable skills. Unfortunately they are in an area where the cost of living is very high. Their first priority should be to learn English and the fact that they are not is telling me that they want to be continue to be dependent on others for their keeping. Harsh words, yes.
I have had friends that have traveled to Ukraine in the past and had no problems with communicating with most people who were born after WII in English. English is taught in schools. They should be more proactive in finding English language learning opportunities then they are according to this article. Waiting around for some charity who is not responding is a waste of time.
They claim to be ambitious, then they need to prove it by being so. Use some of that $3000 they have and pay for it themselves. Once they can communicate, use it to get jobs so that they can get off of the kindness of others and perhaps help other Ukrainians.
I foresee that this couple will be housing this family for many months or even years if they are waiting for charities provide services. The GoFundme should take off due to this article, I hope that they use that money wisely. Otherwise they have only learned that they can be dependent on the kindness of others for years to come with enough of a sob story. I think an update in six months would be telling.
While listening to your stint on John and Ken last Friday, the question I thought you needed to
ask the RV'ers (and the Ukraine refugees) is why L.A.? That's what's making it hard. Unless you can get TV/Film salaries - it's impossible. That first lady with the child appeared to just have the sort of skills that the pay is almost the same in a cheap place to live. The refugees first were in North Carolina. Better plan. Tell your friends. Get them to Georgia. Just hunt cheapest prices on Zillow all over the U.S. That will find you less expensive towns.
Americans are willing to help families like the Kurtas, but they rarely know specifics about the needs and how to meet them. Jane, you've done an excellent job of explaining the problems of seven people, which helps, but shouldn't the charity group that brought the family from Ukraine take some responsibility for publicizing the problem? So few charities themselves understand that without publicity, they're doomed to have minimal impact. The ones who do understand it are animal welfare groups who run all those TV ads of shivering, sad-eyed dogs. The Humane Society of the United States, for example, reportedly has amassed a million-dollar-plus investment portfolio. Other charites that deal with human rescue could learn a lot from them. Thanks for the article.
Jane, your story has my gut tight and tears in my eyes. putin will go down in history as among the worst.
Another great piece of writing. Thanks for including the go fund me link. I sent in a small “howdy” so they know we all care. Please do a follow up story and make sure they see your article! Hey guys, welcome to America! How can I help you! :-)
Angels on all concerned. And thanks for giving GoFundMe link.
Fascinating, and a bit sad. Let's hope they can get settled. Nice job, Jane.
Everything CafeCat said.
empathy for this family but being a empty nester and older with less patience I couldn't put myself and husband thru this. Kudos to your friends but sooner or later the welcome wagon wheels will fall off.
Fortunately they have marketable skills. Unfortunately they are in an area where the cost of living is very high. Their first priority should be to learn English and the fact that they are not is telling me that they want to be continue to be dependent on others for their keeping. Harsh words, yes.
I have had friends that have traveled to Ukraine in the past and had no problems with communicating with most people who were born after WII in English. English is taught in schools. They should be more proactive in finding English language learning opportunities then they are according to this article. Waiting around for some charity who is not responding is a waste of time.
They claim to be ambitious, then they need to prove it by being so. Use some of that $3000 they have and pay for it themselves. Once they can communicate, use it to get jobs so that they can get off of the kindness of others and perhaps help other Ukrainians.
I foresee that this couple will be housing this family for many months or even years if they are waiting for charities provide services. The GoFundme should take off due to this article, I hope that they use that money wisely. Otherwise they have only learned that they can be dependent on the kindness of others for years to come with enough of a sob story. I think an update in six months would be telling.
While listening to your stint on John and Ken last Friday, the question I thought you needed to
ask the RV'ers (and the Ukraine refugees) is why L.A.? That's what's making it hard. Unless you can get TV/Film salaries - it's impossible. That first lady with the child appeared to just have the sort of skills that the pay is almost the same in a cheap place to live. The refugees first were in North Carolina. Better plan. Tell your friends. Get them to Georgia. Just hunt cheapest prices on Zillow all over the U.S. That will find you less expensive towns.
Americans are willing to help families like the Kurtas, but they rarely know specifics about the needs and how to meet them. Jane, you've done an excellent job of explaining the problems of seven people, which helps, but shouldn't the charity group that brought the family from Ukraine take some responsibility for publicizing the problem? So few charities themselves understand that without publicity, they're doomed to have minimal impact. The ones who do understand it are animal welfare groups who run all those TV ads of shivering, sad-eyed dogs. The Humane Society of the United States, for example, reportedly has amassed a million-dollar-plus investment portfolio. Other charites that deal with human rescue could learn a lot from them. Thanks for the article.