Ilona, a mother of four, hadn’t had peace of mind for the last four years. She made aliyah with her 16-year-old daughter, Tamar, in March 2022, shortly after the war in Ukraine began. Her 23-year-old twin sons, Maksim and Kyrylo, helped them secure seats on an evacuation flight to Israel with assistance from The Fellowship. The family had originally planned for the twins to make aliyah first, but the war changed all their plans. Ilona’s oldest son, Artur, had made aliyah years earlier, in 2001, and was already living in Israel.
Llona said, “Perhaps in my mind I understood that this was the best solution, but my heart was torn into pieces that day. Two of my children were with me in Israel, and two remained in Ukraine. I was blackened by tears. I was losing my mind from helplessness. I have a very wise daughter. She told me, ‘Mom, you cannot cry, you have to pull yourself together. We have to live. We have to live, we have to believe, and we simply have to wait. Kyrylo and Maksim will definitely come to us.’”
The 10-day journey was anything but easy, involving bus rides, stays in shelters, and long train rides across Ukraine. Finally, they reached Israel, but the family’s move was far from complete without the boys. During the day, Ilona focused on being the mother her children needed. At night, she cried into her pillow, sick with worry for her sons. The job she found at a factory in Kiryat Bialik helped take her mind off her concerns, as did the companionship of her coworkers. Artur visited every week, while Tamar started school and began making new friends.
In 2023, Maksim arrived in Israel, and just last month, Kyrylo, his wife Mariia, and their son made aliyah. Kyrylo and Mariia welcomed their son, Mykhailo, two years ago, and Ilona finally got to hold her grandson for the first time. The family had stayed in contact with The Fellowship since their initial aliyah. Kyrylo and Mariia’s Freedom Flight was supported by IFCJ Canada.
“As a mother, I want to thank the staff and donors of The Fellowship for not stopping, and for continuing to help families reunite to this day. I want to thank you for the opportunity to be with my children, for the chance to hug them, for the long-awaited meeting with my grandson, for a calm heart, and for peace in my soul,” Ilona said.
Kyrylo shared that he and Mariia had expressed anxiety about moving to Israel, but Ilona always reassured them that The Fellowship would take care of them and that they were in good hands.
He says, “She trusts the organization completely and unconditionally. Right now, I am in such a state of euphoria, such a quiet joy, that I cannot even describe what I feel. Everything is good with us. My mother, brothers, and sister are here with me and my family. We are simply happy.”
