Long Beach family details rewarding experience taking in Ukrainian family in need

A Long Beach family is discussing the rewarding experience they have felt after taking in a Ukrainian family in need, forced to flee from their homeland as war raged on. 

Newlyweds Matt and Alex Maehara decided to take the chance and bring the Martynchuk family into their home after learning their story. 

After they were forced to pull their daughters from school, leave their home and sleep in hallways as they did their best to avoid the ongoing air raid sirens blaring throughout their homeland. 

"Explosion, it was. We were scared," said Inna Martynchuk, the wife of Roman and mother of the two girls. She detailed that the idea to sleep in the hallways outside their apartment came in light of the risk the ongoing explosions posed to their safety. "It was danger to explosion, and window can crash."

Inna's friend, who lives in Dana Point, offered to sponsor the Martynchuks, but didn't have enough room to take in a family of four. She turned the internet in search of people offering relief to Ukraine, where she found the Maeharas. 

"We had the extra space in our house," Matt said, detailing that they had already donated but felt there was more that could be done. 

Before letting the strangers into their home, Matt and Alex did their due diligence, meeting the family via video chat and scouring their social media profiles for any possible red flags. 

"They had Instagram profiles that we could look up," Matt said. "So we took a chance but it turned out to be such a great family to live with."  

After arrangements were made, and the Martynchuks began the long 12-hour trek from Ivano-Frankivsk to the border of Poland, the Maeharas in turn reached out to their own community in search of furniture and money to fund the new family's life in America. 

They were able to fully furnish two bedrooms, and thus far have raised over $7,000 of a $25,000 goal on a GoFundMe created for the family. 

"Please help us support this young family as they endeavor to start a new life in California. The family arrived with only the personal items that they could carry, so they are starting with virtually nothing," the GoFundMe said, detailing that the funds will be used for things like groceries, clothing and school supplies for the girls, 8 and 11-years-old, but not before landing the family a car to get to and from job interviews.

Roman, a musician, artist and teacher, is seeking work in the music industry, while Inna, a former ballerina, is looking for a career in information technology, or IT. 

Matt and Alex are also working to help the Martynchuks secure social security cards and driver's licenses, while the girls have already begun to attend local schools, making friends who speak with them via Google Translate. 

"After first day of school, I saw in their eyes that they were happy," said Inna. 

The GoFundMe, which can be found by searching the terms "Support a Ukrainian Family relocating to CA," ends with a message of gratitude from the Maehara family: 

"My wife and I are extremely proud and humbled to be able to provide rooms in our house for the family to stay. As my wife and I are early in our careers, we cannot afford to support this family without help from the community financially."

As the family plans their first ever trip to Disneyland in the coming weeks, they can't help but express their gratitude to the Maeharas, who put their own living situation on the line for their sake. 

"It's like a miracle, you know? Because I didn't even expect this," Inna said. 

Roman echoed that sentiment, "Thank you for this great family. For this people. For this great country… it's awesome."