A Milpitas gym is helping an 8-year-old gymnast who fled war-torn Ukraine keep his dreams of competing alive.
Game Time Elite Gymnastics have welcomed Romeo Zaichenko and his family with open arms, waiving the young gymnast's fees and reaching out to the community to offer more help.
"We have raised $3,000 now," Game Time Elite Gymnastics co-owner Nikki McClure said. "We had two kiddos that actually gave up a week of camp to give those funds to support the family."
For Romeo, hanging upside down from rings seems serene compared to the bombings he saw near his home in Ukraine.
"Always you were hearing bombs when you go outside," he said.
As the bombings got closer to their home in Kyiv, Romeo's mother realized the risk to him and his two younger sisters was too high, so they fled to Poland.
"It was terrible," Polina Maliachuk said. "Too many refugees, no place to sleep, no place to live, no hotels, no apartments."
To add to the family's challenges, Maliachuk has cancer and was unable to get the treatment she needed because so many hospitals in Ukraine were closed.
Eventually, Romeo and his family made it to Mexico. They were then able to cross into the United States in March and relocate to Santa Clara, where they now live with a relative.
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But Romeo's father, Alex Zaichenko, remains in Ukraine fighting for his country.
"I love my dad," Romeo said.
For now, Romeo puts all of his energy into training as he waits for the moment when his entire family can be reunited and safe.
