In the nearly two years since Russia invaded Ukraine, millions of people have been displaced by the war, and many are still looking for a new place to call home.
Two Northeast Ohio women decided to help. They became sponsors and say it’s a decision that has changed their lives, and they encourage others to consider it, too.
“Because my family is Ukrainian, we always have a traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve, and now we get to enjoy it with Liana and Valeriya,” smiled Krista Kartson.
Kartson and her mother, Marianne Kartson of Middleburg Heights, welcomed Liana and Valeriya Beznosiuk to Northeast Ohio from Ukraine in August of this year after connecting a few months earlier.
“We had never met before other than chatting once on Zoom, and we embraced as if we were long-lost family,” she said of their first meeting in Cleveland. “It meant a lot to be able to support a family during a time they really needed it.”
Krista and Marianne sponsored Valeriya and her mom, Liana, through Welcome.US, a nonprofit organization for refugee resettlement. Krista works for the organization and knows first-hand how big the need is.n
She described what it looks like to be a sponsor.
“Being a sponsor means welcoming newcomers at the airport,” said Krista. “It means helping people like Valeriya and Liana find a home, find a job, and understand and be welcomed into their new community here in the United States. Being a sponsor is being a friend and good neighbor.”
Valeriya and Liana are from the Donetsk region in Eastern Ukraine, one of the areas hardest hit by the war. They were gymnastic coaches and fled their home to save their lives.
Through a translator who joined us over the phone, Valeriya and her mother said how grateful they are to Marianne and Krista and how without them, none of this would be possible.
“They said that if they didn’t find sponsors, Krista and her mom, they wouldn’t come to the U.S. because it’s incredibly hard to not only come to a new country but to build your life from the beginning in a new country is hard mentally and financially,” said the translator in English for Valeriya.
The pair is strong, but it’s clear their loved ones back home, fellow Ukrainians, and the suffering still happening in the war zone are always on their hearts and minds.
“She would like to encourage Americans to continue to help them because many are still searching for safety,” the translator said for Valeriya and Liana, who was tearing up on her daughter’s shoulder.
The sponsorship is a helping hand to guide the transition into a new future. Marianne knows the impact it can have. Her parents were displaced after WWII, and sponsors resettled them in Parma.
“Without the generosity of others, the trajectory of our lives would’ve been different than they are today,” said Marianne. “So, it means everything.”
That is why she wanted to be that blessing to someone else.
And sponsors don’t do it alone. Welcome.US provides a host of partner agencies to guide the process, and Marianne and Krista say so many friends and family have also come alongside them.
“I think it takes that one person to make a decision and to just light that flame and get that fire started, and others will come,” said Marianne, tearing up. “They will come and help. It is a huge blessing.”
Krista said being a sponsor has changed her life.
“It’s changed the life of my family,” she added. “It changed how I see my community, and it gave me friends forever in Liana and Valeriya.”
Welcome.US launched the Welcome Connect online tool to help match people seeking refuge with Americans willing to be sponsors.
Since launching last year, the nonprofit says it’s helped more than 2,000 refugees find sponsorships.
