ST. LOUIS — This week marks six months since Russia first invaded Ukraine. Countless Ukrainians had to flee their homes and find better lives.
Two Ukrainian families have just received sponsorship through President Biden's "Uniting for Ukraine" program to start their new lives in St. Louis.
“I’m kind of happy that I’m trying to change their life to have a positive outcome," said the sponsor for both families, Tetiana Mouzi.
Mouzi came to St. Louis from Ukraine almost 20 years ago. Now, she’s helping others get the same opportunity. She’s sponsored two families to St. Louis in the last month.
The Lazar family said they couldn’t be more grateful. They told 5 On Your Side they feel so much support in St. Louis.
The Hembrovska family feel their gratitude and their heartache for home all the same.
“It’s very hard to be here when your husband is at home and your family is there," Nataliia Hembrovska said.
The two families and many others gathered at St. Mary’s Assumption Ukrainian Catholic Church to do something close to all of them: hand-making Ukrainian dolls. Each doll carries its own meaning, something Alisa Muzyka showed all of her fellow Ukrainians Sunday.
“In your mind you can say it's for the kindness, for the love, for the protection," Muzyka said.
All the dolls made Sunday followed Ukrainian traditions, including one that says no doll should ever be cut, but only tied, as a symbol of hope and commitment to their ancestry.
“I don’t want to go back to Russia, I want to go back to independent Ukraine. So, this is my purpose to make it (the dolls),” Muzyka said.
Like the dolls, both families have their own stories, and their own reason to make their own meaning in St. Louis, too
“That they are not alone, that this is just part of life, and that we’re looking forward to a brighter future," Mouzi said.
You can check the group's Facebook page if you want to look for opportunities to help out these families and others, and to watch as Ukrainian refugees continue to make St. Louis their home.