Jing

UA Initiative’s on the ground volunteer team in Poland was recently contacted by a school librarian in Puławy who was seeking urgent help for a student named Zofia. At sixteen, Zofia left Ukraine alone at the start of the war and has been trying to build a life in Poland without stable family support. She has been managing anxiety, depression, panic attacks and insomnia while maintaining a 4.5 GPA and planning for university. 

A Ukrainian refugee who came to the U.S. seeking safety and a new beginning — taken too soon.

At just 23 years old, Iryna Zarutska had already survived the war in Ukraine and built a new life in Charlotte, North Carolina. She worked hard to support her mother and younger siblings, dreaming of peace, stability, and a future filled with possibility.