Yuliya Cherman has not heard from her in-laws in 26 days 乌鸦传媒� ever since Russia invaded Ukraine 乌鸦传媒� and the shelling started against her hometown of Mariupol.

The Maple Ridge resident has spent nights awake, searching the internet, trying to find any news of her husband乌鸦传媒檚 mother, father, and grandmother. They didn乌鸦传媒檛 manage to escape the port city before Russia entered the country, cutting off access to communication, electricity, medical aid, and food. She has looked through lists of people who have been killed, who are in the hospital, and who are missing 乌鸦传媒� but she hasn乌鸦传媒檛 been able to locate them for the past 26 days.

乌鸦传媒淚 have health issues because I can乌鸦传媒檛 sleep, I can乌鸦传媒檛 eat,乌鸦传媒� said the Ukrainian native.

She乌鸦传媒檚 doing what she can 乌鸦传媒� raising money to help a friend, and her friend乌鸦传媒檚 twin sons, who have been made refugees by the war. They fled to Warsaw, Poland, after two weeks of the Russian bombardment of Mariupol. She will help them make the final journey to Maple Ridge, to start a brand new life.

They escaped Mariupol with only the clothes on their backs, said Cherman, describing her friend乌鸦传媒檚 ordeal.

Online she wrote about how her 42-year-old friend, Viktoriia Serhiienko, her husband, Oleksandr, and her 13-year-old sons Daniil and Illia, had sought refuge in the basement of their family house when Ukrainian soldiers urged them to leave.

The family house was destroyed right after they left, said Cherman, killing the family dog.

They hid in another basement before that house was also destroyed and then decided that Viktoriia and the children were going to try to escape, while Oleksandr would stay behind to help the Ukrainian troops.

Viktoriia piled the boys along with her neighbour and her neighbour乌鸦传媒檚 child into her car, and started the drive. It took her 14 hours to drive 200 kilometres to the next city. Because of the constant shelling, they couldn乌鸦传媒檛 use lights to illuminate the road as they drove, said Cherman.

When they reached Lviv, they had friends there who helped them get at least a change of clothing. In Poland other friends helped them find accommodations. Now they are renting an apartment, Canadian visas in hand, waiting for their passports.

乌鸦传媒淚t was very, very hard and tough and she cries even now,乌鸦传媒� Cherman explained, adding that even in Poland, when her friend hears a siren, she becomes panicked, thinking Russian fighting could easily cross the border. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 mentally very hard.乌鸦传媒�

Her friend doesn乌鸦传媒檛 know if she will ever see her husband again. He is now driving humanitarian aid from the Polish border into Kiev.

Cherman has started a , trying to raise $10,000 for the family to make a fresh start in Maple Ridge. As of Tuesday, March 29, she has raised $5,830. Cherman will help the family purchase plane tickets for their flight to Canada. The money raised willhelp with their resettlement costs.

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乌鸦传媒淏ecause they don乌鸦传媒檛 have anything, any clothes, anything,乌鸦传媒� said Cherman, who would also like to help them purchase a used vehicle.

乌鸦传媒淏ecause, you know, in our area, you can乌鸦传媒檛 find any job if you don乌鸦传媒檛 have a vehicle,乌鸦传媒� she said.

The plan is the family will stay with Cherman for a month or so until they find a suitable rental suite in the area. Then they will try to rebuild their lives.

乌鸦传媒淪he told me that she is not OK to return to the Ukraine. Now she needs a safe place to start from scratch,乌鸦传媒� said Cherman.

Meanwhile Cherman will keep searching for her in-laws.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 very hard, especially for my husband. He乌鸦传媒檚 an only child,乌鸦传媒� she said.

They are still in shock about the Russian invasion.

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Cherman, herself, lived in Mariupol for more than 30 years, and her husband more than 40 years, and they say the city is completely destroyed.

The United Nations human rights office estimates more than 1,000 civilians have been killed during the Russian invasion so far.

Her friends, wrote Cherman on the GoFundMe page, used to love to take their children to Western Ukraine to see the mountains. They loved hiking and exploring nature together. They also loved their jobs, and planning vacations.

乌鸦传媒淭hey helped the people around, they took in maybe even too many stray cats. Their kids went to the same school that my daughter went to,乌鸦传媒� she said.

However, now, 乌鸦传媒渘ot only their house, but their dreams, way of life, future that they planned, all of that was destroyed 乌鸦传媒� burnt to ashes.乌鸦传媒�

To donate to Cherman乌鸦传媒檚 campaign to help her friend Viktoriia Serhiienko resettle her family in Maple Ridge go to .