(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Ukrainian Catholic school in Chicago said it has already taken in more than a dozen students from war-torn Ukraine in the past couple of weeks.
According to St. Nicholas Cathedral School assistant principal Lisa Swytnyk, there are 15 children who have enrolled in her school after coming to the United States to escape the war in Ukraine.
“Yesterday, we had a little kindergartner, that it was her first day and she kept talking about the war all day and how she misses her dad,” said Swtynyk.
The girl’s dad had to stay in Ukraine to fight the Russians.
“We have a girl that walked a week across Ukraine to get to Poland with her grandfather,” Swytnyk said.
“She has a 19-year old brother, so mom had that internal struggle of, ‘Do I go with her and leave my son who has to fight in the war or what do I do here?’ So, she did stay to support her son that has to be a soldier now,” added Swytnyk.
The Big Shoulders Fund is covering the newest students’ tuition.
The assistant principal says the school wants the new students to feel like there are hugs around them at all-times.
Swytnyk said the 15 students who have come from Ukraine since the war began range in age from 4 to 15 years old.
St. Nicholas started an Amazon wish list of necessities for its new school families last week. Swytnyk says the school has been overwhelmed in a good way.
“Just yesterday, we had three Amazon deliveries. One of them had 166 packages. It’s crazy. Crazy in the best way, though,” noted Swytnyk.
She also said St. Nicholas Cathedral School will continue to ask for donations because she’s sure there’ll be more students to come from the war-torn country.
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