COLORADO SPRINGS — A Ukrainian refugee and a Colorado Springs business owner are working together to help Ukrainians get basic power sources like generators.
The destination is the Luhansk Region, one of the hardest hit regions of the Russian invasion.
They have formed an aid plan called Ukraine Power.
Yana Malyk tells her story with the help of a translator.
“From the first bomb which was thrown close to her house. It took her 10 minutes to grab everything she had and she had to move,” said Malik.
She and her two young daughters fled from her home in the Luhansk Region near the Russian border.
“Lived in, in the eastern part of Ukraine. And it was very dangerous. That's where most of the battles are going on,” said Malyk.
They escaped to the east side of Ukraine and were then evacuated to Colorado Springs where Whitney Luckett and her family offered to be the Malyks sponsors.
Luckett is also the owner of Simko North America an international company that handles the supply chain logistics of raw rubber.
Her business connections paired with Malyk’s knowledge of the Luhansk Region evolved to a partnership creating Ukraine Power.
Luckett said, “I can pick up the phone and call my office in Germany and ask them to pick up the container and take it directly to Ukraine.”
Malyk is a refugee but not helpless.
She is still in communication with people back home.
Her translator explained, “She had a lot of contacts in Ukraine, and she knew what people needed in each part of the country and she knew the logistics how to deliver this.”
Yana got in touch with the Governor.,” said Luckett, “And he told us what they need. We have a full list of generators of heaters of headlamps that they need for people to try to return to some semblance of normalcy.”
They are raising money and orchestrating shipments.
Just this week they secured 45 generators that are now en route to the region.
Ukraine Power is on Facebook and web at this link.
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