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Woman trying to get family and other refugees from Ukraine to Colorado

Oksana Kovalenko said she's encountered numerous challenges while trying to get her family and other refugees to the U.S.

DENVER, Colorado — A woman from Broomfield is trying to help her Ukrainian family come to Colorado, along with other refugees.

Oksana Kovalenko moved to the U.S. about 25 years ago as a religious refugee. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it's proven difficult for those fleeing to find refuge in the States.

"They aren’t coming here just for this wonderful American life. They’re willing to work. Their kids need to go to school," Kovalenko said. 

Right now, her relatives are in Poland at a refugee center. They are sleeping on makeshift beds out in the open.

"It’s not ideal. However, they don’t hear airstrikes every five minutes," Kovalenko said. 

She is fundraising and trying to gather support to bring her seven relatives to safety. Right now, they can't legally come to Colorado on a plane from Poland. They have two choices. One is to go to Canada and seek asylum there. The other is to go through Mexico into the United States.

"It baffles me why we haven’t done anything like other countries have for this crisis, this situation. We can just put them on a plane in Poland and meet them in Colorado, but we can’t legally right now," Kovalenko said. 

She turned to the government and other resources to find other avenues. She said she never received a call or email in return when she reached out. 

"It got to the point where I had to do something," Kovalenko said. 

She started her own grassroots fundraising campaign to bring awareness to the struggles families like hers are facing. She's hoping to create a network of people that may be able to house a family when they do arrive or support them in other ways. 

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