How a Bishop's student got her Ukrainian family to safety in Poland

Bishop's University student Arina Zinchenko said she cried tears of joy after finding out her cousins and aunt had finally made it to Poland and were safe.

The 22-year-old student in Sherbrooke, Que., sprung into action as soon as she found out they were fleeing Ukraine through the western city Lviv. She contacted everyone she could think of in surrounding countries to see if they could shelter them.

"I started posting about it. I had so many people share all the information I was sharing,"  Zinchenko said in an interview with CBC Radio's Breakaway Friday. 

"I was saying I have three women, two girls and their mom, they're looking for a place to stay."

After connecting with an old friend from CEGEP who has family in Poland, Zinchenko found her three relatives a safe place to stay, where they have been since last week. 

"His family, they are the most amazing people. They said yes no problem, we will pick them up from the border, bring them to our house, we will feed them, we will cater to them, everything," Zinchenko said. 

Before her family crossed the border, they sent along a photo of themselves so the Polish hosts would be able to identify them.

"I've never seen them so pale, I've never seen them so tired, I've never seen them so devastated," she said.

Hours later, once they made it to Poland, she received a second image of her aunt and cousins sitting at the table.

By then the colour had returned to their faces. 

"They were so happy," she said. 

Zinchenko says she couldn't help crying tears of joy at the sight of them in safety, with their relief so palpably visible in the photos. 

Zinchenko is doubly relieved because her grandmother, after arriving at Lviv's train station on Friday, also made it to Poland, where she was met by family. She was hesitant to leave her home country at first, Zinchenko said. 

LISTEN | Bishop's University student Arina Zinchenko recounts family's escape

Zinchenko's siblings and parents live in Montreal but much of her family remains in Ukraine. Ever since the Russian invasion began in late February, she had been looking for ways to help her family who remained in the country, but felt hopeless in the beginning. 

"It was so stressful and you want to help them as much as you can, but you understand that you don't have a lot of opportunities to help," she said, recalling the beginning of the invasion. 

"When you're on the phone with them you can hear the shooting and you can hear the bombs," she said. "In the beginning it was horrific."

With the help of other Ukrainian students, Zinchenko will be holding a fundraiser on Sunday at Bishop's Centennial Theatre on Sunday. The group will be collecting donations, notably for Ukrainian students who wish to attend Bishop's.