A refugee family that fled Ukraine after Russian troops invaded last year has found a new life and a unique community in the Bay Area.
After fleeing eastern Ukraine and traveling for a month, Yuilia Karpenko, her husband and 5-year-old son Volodymyr, who goes by Vova, landed in Redwood City.
Vova was admitted to the school at the St. Francis Center. It was different than anything the family knew before.
Vova was scared after seeing so much back home. He never wanted to leave his mom and didn't speak any English as he entered kindergarten.
"He’s been afraid until now of a big noise," Karpenko said. "That can [make him afraid] very quickly."
Months later, Vova is thriving and has clearly assimilated.
"I’m very proud of him because he has big success and progress," Karpenko said.
The St. Francis Center is not just a school. It provides food and clothes. There are 259 housing units serving low-income families, mostly Latinx.
But when Sister Christina Heltsley heard Vova's story, she knew they had to take the family in.
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"In one sense, their stories are the same," Heltsley said. "There is a lot of violence that they have witnessed and experienced. They are recent immigrants. They needed us to welcome them, and we do."
The school is free but requires one parent to be on site once a week. Karpenko spends it brushing up on conversational English.
"We want to raise up the whole family in terms of literacy, not just the blessed lucky kid that got in here," Heltsley said.
Since most of the parents only speak Spanish, Karpenko is learning it as well.
"When they text message and chat in Spanish, I need to use vocabulary every time and Google translate," Karpenko said. "I decided that it could be useful."
The family is not only grateful for their new community, they're helping it grow.
"That we have met them, that they have found us," Karpenko said. "Very appreciated from the bottom of my heart."
