Ukraine refugee family to make new home in Ottawa

The population of Ottawa will be growing by three next week, courtesy of a special family and their many, many friends.

The Khudaverdiiev family – father Arif (49), daughter Parvana (16) and son Alekber (18) – have escaped their small war-torn village in the Kherson region of the Ukraine and are in a refugee camp in Germany, on their way to the United States.

Thanks to the nearly year-long efforts of the Ottawa chapter of WelcomeNST and many of its friends, the Khudaverdiiev family will be arriving at midday Tuesday, March 12, at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, greeted by WelcomeNST lead Jordan Johnson and another member of the team.

If flights are on time and traffic is not bad, the family should be in Ottawa by dinnertime.

“It’s very exciting,” Johnson said. “For them, it’s exciting just to be somewhere safe and stable and start building their lives again, so the exact details of the community are of no matter right now.

“But the reaction of the community has been incredible. You never know, because things like this can be somewhat political and generate a little pushback, but we haven’t seen or heard a single word of pushback. Everyone that we’ve reached out to has been nothing but supportive and have offered anything we’ve needed, in fact too much, in some cases. It’s been really great feeling the support of the community.

“This is absolutely do-able in our community, but not without the community support we’re seeing.”

Since the Russian invasion into the Ukraine on Feb. 22, 2022, escalated the Russo-Ukranian War that started in 2014, some 75,000 Afghan refugees have arrived in the U.S.

Of that number, so far more than 600 have been placed by WelcomeNST, a non-profit organization founded by Elizabeth Davis-Edwards in 2021. The Khudaverdiievs would have loved to stay in their native land, but Arif knew that because of constant bombardments and food shortages, it was becoming much too dangerous for his children to remain there, Johnson said of the family.

Johnson heard of Davis-Edwards’ work and immediately became interested in her work. She approached her church, Open Table United Church of Christ, and the idea was welcomed, the church agreeing to hold the donations and finances for the Ottawa WelcomeNST chapter.

After several weeks going through a matching procedure with interpreters, the Khudaverdiievs were linked with Ottawa and on Feb. 4, Johnson’s Welcome Team became their official sponsor through the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services.

Along with Johnson, the core members of the group include Sharon Karasti, Terri McTaggart, Tim McTaggart, Anne Badger, Susan Schmidt, Sharon Loudon and Heather Johnson.

That’s when the real work started, first with securing an apartment for the family for at least the group’s six-month commitment of support.

Then came sorting through and accepting the hundreds of donations of funds, furniture and household goods sent their way through the Ottawa Welcome Team’s Facebook page and connections with other churches in the area.

“We love it when people in the community want to contribute financially, but through other churches, there are projects and donations,” Open Table UCC pastor Jennifer Amy-Dressler said. “Individuals are really at the core of it.”

“It’s been very cool seeing how people have been creative with all of the things they offer,” Johnson said. “One person even volunteers to do their first day’s grocery shopping so there’d be food in the apartment when they arrive … Obviously, the finances are very important and moving forward that will be needed, but there are so many other ways people have come up with to help. There are so many things we have in our homes that we don’t even think about, but they’re needed.”

The next step involves, in part, a bigger step. Finding work for Arif, who is an experienced handyman, livestock handler and beekeeper, and Alekber, who has graduated with a high-school level education and is interested in IT, is next. Parvana is finishing her final year of Ukrainian high school online and will also attend OHS.

The bigger problem comes with language, as the three speak Russian and have only marginal knowledge of English. Things like Google Translate are a help, but the group would love to find someone fluent in Russian to act as an interpreter.

In the meantime, there are many ways to assist this young family, such as tutoring English, helping determine a budget, finding medical services, rides to a store, school or appointments, or any of the facets of every day life most people take for granted.

Anyone interested in helping the Ottawa WelcomeNST chapter in any way, please contact the Ottawa Welcome Team Facebook page, ottawawelcometeam@gmail.com, or 815-433-0771.