Community rallies around Ukrainian family struck by tragedy in their new homeland

They  fled war-torn Ukraine in search of safety and a fresh start but their dreams have been shattered.

“We wanted to start a new life, start a new life,” Anika Kyrychenko.

Kyrychenko, her husband Ivan and three young children arrived in the Okanagan in November 2022.

But in the spring of 2024, the family was dealt a big blow when Ivan 34, was diagnosed with advanced Sarcoma that had spread to his lungs and spine.

Ivan passed away on Aug. 29, just five short months after that shocking diagnosis.

“Now everything that I feel,  it’s just empty,” said a grieving Kyrychenko.

Ivan was the sole provider for the family of five and how now left his wife and young children in a tough situation.

“It’s difficult,” said Kyrychenko. “I need a little bit of time and rest and I will find a job.”

Adding to the already difficult situation, both twin girls, 5,  were recently diagnosed with autism, one of them non-verbal requiring a lot of care.

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Touched by the tragic circumstances, the community is now coming together to help the family both financially and emotionally.

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Tammy Gilmour is with Autism Okanagan, one of the organizations rallying around foursome.

“I’ve been doing this job for a long time in the helping profession and this family really gets my heart,” Gilmour told Global News.  “They fled the Ukraine and war-torn, war-torn times, Ivan was able to get his family out…so he got them safe and got a job and got started in Canada, like started all over again, and then Cancer.”

She’s hoping others step forward to help the newly single mom and her children until they can get back on their feet.

“To help Nika afford her life, afford her expenses, to be able to stay home with her kids and to be able to not worry about trying to get a job yet,” Gilmour said. “So that she could just work on being a mom and grieve.”

Money is being donated through a charitable organization called the Bravery Foundation.

It provides humanitarian aid to Ukraine and support for displaced Ukrainians, in this case displaced as well as grief-stricken.

“It’s so painful to wake up every morning and keep smiling… because you have kids,” Kyrychenko said.

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