To my dear friends,
My name is Vitaliy Novytskyy. I became a citizen of the United States of America in 2019. I graduated from Liberty University with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology in 2021.
Ten years ago, at the age of fifteen, I moved to the United States of America to pursue a better life for myself and my family. Unfortunately, eight years is the length of time that I could not see my family due to the war circumstances already building up in the eastern part of Ukraine. Although it was devastating, I knew that this was a sacrifice that I had to make.
Although there was a long time when I could not physically be with my family, we still lived as a unit FaceTiming practically every weekend. My heart is filled with joy thinking about the time when my weekends will no longer be filled with FaceTime calls but instead with their physical presence.
It has always been my dream and goal to move my family to the U.S. and care for them. By the grace of God and many incredible people I was fortunate to meet throughout my ten-year journey (you all know who you are), an opportunity finally presented itself to fulfill this dream of mine. Filling out the appropriate applications and paying fees accordingly, the United States Citizenship and Immigration service is currently reviewing the applications for my parents. I anticipate immigrating them to the United States of America in four to six months.
Immigration of my parents to the United States means that they will leave behind anything and everything they have built-in Ukraine and Poland. I will be responsible for building their new and beautiful life in the United States of America. Their immigration is where I would like to lean on you, but first, some more information about my extended family.
War. A word that I never thought would impact my family, relatives, and friends. There are no winners, rather a lot of fear, uncertainty, and broken hearts.
As many of you know, the Russian war against Ukraine and its citizens has forced many people to flee the Ukrainian land. This tragedy has tragically impacted the family of my aunt. The following is a direct statement of my cousin, “24th of February, a day that will be ingrained in my memory for the rest of my life. At 5 a.m. I was woken up by loud noises later determined to be bombs sent from the aggressor's side. My father, mother and I spent the following two days in the basement of our nine-story apartment building without water or food. As the bombing increased, my mother and I made our way to the train station in an attempt to evacuate the city. We spent the entirety of the day at the train station and were finally able to get on a train in the evening. It’s challenging to convey the chaos and fear everyone was experiencing at that moment. Every single car attached to the locomotive was overfilled with people. Refugees slept on the floor, standing, and in the walkways. A trip that should have taken us two hours by airplane instead took us three days by train. We have fled to Poland with little to no money, a backpack and documents”.
My uncle had to stay behind in the city of Kharkiv. One of the most bombed cities since the beginning of this war. Due to a new law banning males ages 18-60 from leaving the country, he was forced to stay. His home, an apartment where he has lived for the past fifteen years, no longer has water, electricity, heat, and gas. As a result of a bomb that hit the neighboring apartment building, his apartment no longer has any windows. We are in close contact with him and are making sure that we can provide anything for him to continue to survive amid this chaos.
Additionally, we are currently working on moving him to the westernmost part of Ukraine. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult to evacuate because of the increased bombings. I am praying that we will find a way to evacuate him from the city.
After all, as it says in John 16:33, “…In the world you will have tribulation”. My family and I hope that we can lean on you in this time of tribulation. All of the proceeds will go directly to assist my family and my aunt's family in laying a new foundation wherever they might end up. My goal is to immigrate, my sister, her husband, and my aunt's family. Your help means everything. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you in advance for any donation that you may give!
Yours truly,
Vitaliy Novytskyy