Finding Welcome, Finding Home
From the Winter 2024 Issue
Ukrainian refugees find new home in Sandpoint
MARIIA AND DIMA GERASYMENKO AND THEIR CHILDREN AT A CELEBRATION OF UKRAINIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON IN 2023. COURTESY PHOTO.
“We are ready.” These are words the Gerasymenko family heard over and over again from President Zelenskyy as numerous citizens, foreigners, and government representatives fled Ukraine in the spring of 2022. It comes as no surprise, then, that the Gerasymenkos were prepared for the February 24th explosions that occurred not far from their home in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine.
The family of four was shocked awake by rattling windows and their deepest fears were confirmed: the military base near their home was under attack. They had prepared for this moment. Mariia Gerasymenko recounted, “[I] was fearful and had filled the gas tank and packed our suitcases. It seemed to us that most people didn’t believe the Russians would really attack us. The media was not accurately reporting the seriousness of our situation. That morning, in 15 minutes, we had loaded the car [with] food, suitcases, two girls, and us.” Mariia and her husband, Dima, were left with one big question: where to now?
“As we were driving, we could see there was a fire at the military base … every gas station in every city along the way had long lines.” Initially, thoughts of western Ukraine or France crossed their minds, but they settled on heading for the Slovakian border. They met a long line at the country’s border, having to stay overnight in their car. When they reached the border the next morning, Dima said his goodbyes to his family. “The first eight months we lived in Slovakia with the girls. Dima was a volunteer and he first went to war in the volunteer army.”
AFTER GETTING MARIIA AND THE CHILDREN OUT OF UKRAINE, DIMA REMAINED BEHIND TO FIGHT FOR HIS COUNTRY’S FREEDOM, SERVING IN THE VOLUNTEER ARMY. COURTESY PHOTO.
Diana, 5, and Nastiia, 7, entered Slovakia believing they were going on a holiday with their mother. “The girls thought they were going on vacation, and little Diana asked if there would be a pool,” Mariia recalled. As Mariia worried for Dima’s safety and made plans for their immediate future, the girls remained unaware, safe, and able to enjoy the hospitality they met at the Slovakian border, a hospitality that was not too far off from that which awaited them half a world away in Sandpoint, Idaho. “When we finally crossed the border, we met journalists, volunteers, and other citizens of Slovakia. They helped us carry our suitcases and gave us food and drinks, toiletries, and toys for the kids.”
Returning to Ukraine in August of 2022, Mariia and Dima decided to apply for the United for Ukraine program, which assists Ukrainian citizens and their families in relocating to the U.S. Mariia had “received an invitation from [her] childhood friend, Oksana [Cipriano], to come and stay with her family in Sandpoint” and their decision was made.
FOR DIMA’S FIRST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION IN THE U.S., THE FAMILY TRAVELED TO MONTANA’S WATERFALLS. COURTESY PHOTO.
“Mariia and I went to elementary school together,” said Cipriano. Originally from Ukraine herself, Cipriano and her family had been helping other Ukrainians financially, and sending supplies, “doing as much as I can,” she said. “It was my home and these are my people. If I have the chance to help, I’m going to help.”
When the family reached out, the Ciprianos didn’t hesitate to sponsor the Gerasymenkos’ arrival in the United States.
“The girls and I came to Sandpoint on August 30, 2022, because we wanted the girls to enroll in school,” said Mariia. “Farmin Stidwell was very welcoming and the teachers [were] kind and attentive.” And with two additional Ukrainian students there, Cipriano worked for the school as a translator for all four students as they developed their skills in speaking and reading English.
The Gerasymenko girls “stayed in [the Cipriano’s] house for two months. Then Oksana’s husband, Doug, bought us a travel trailer” to live in. A few months after their arrival in Sandpoint, Dima was wounded in the war and was able to rejoin his family in Sandpoint.
On Christmas Day 2022, Mariia and her girls welcomed Dima to Idaho. As it was his first time living in the U.S. the transition was difficult in the beginning, “For the first time, it was like no friends, very big problems with speaking.” Dima began searching for employment and with a background in engineering mechanics, and as the 2011 Power Boat Navigator World Champion at the Super Boat International world championship, Dima was an easy hire at Sandpoint Marine & Motorsport.
The now complete family began integrating into life in Sandpoint. “We found friends from Judy, our teacher,” Mariia said. One such friend was Carol Curtis. “Our friend Carol helped us find this house…In April we moved [in]…and we are so comfortable and happy here. We have great neighbors and our girls love it here. We live close to their school and we can ride there and everywhere else in Sandpoint. The community of Sandpoint has been very caring and generous to us, and we will always be grateful!”
War continues back in Ukraine, with no clear end in sight. Now here for more than a year, the Gerasymenko family is established as active members of the Sandpoint community while they await the time when they can safely return to their home. Mariia has even started a facepainting business (@facepainting_sandpoint on Instagram). In the meantime they enjoy activities provided by the library, the church, the YMCA, and the friends they have made who live here.
THE GERASYMENKO FAMILY CELEBRATED DIMA’S ARRIVAL IN SANDPOINT BY INTRODUCING HIM TO THE ICONIC VIEW ON THE WAY UP TO SCHWEITZER. COURTESY PHOTO.
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