Our Story

Meet Our Founders

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Founders of Bird of Light Ukraine

From a cold border crossing marked by loss to a mission defined by hope, we empower Ukrainians to rise again.

A black and white photo of a woman, a young girl, and a man sitting on a park bench. The woman and girl are smiling at each other, while the man looks at the camera with his head resting on his hand. In the background, there are trees, a truck, and a building.
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A Reunion Interrupted

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In February 2022, we were in Kyiv for reasons that had nothing to do with war. For Zhanna, it was a momentous personal journey—she had returned to meet her biological father for the first time in 32 years. For Isaac, it was a trip to support Zhanna and finish producing a song we were working on. It was meant to be a time of reunion.

When the explosions began, that world vanished. Like millions of others, we packed what we could and joined the massive stream of traffic fleeing West.

Fire trucks with flashing lights parked on a dark rural road at night.
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A view from inside a moving vehicle on a highway with leafless trees on the left side and a second vehicle ahead. The sky is clear and blue with some patches of snow on the ground.
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The Long Road to Moldova

The drive to the Moldovan border, which should have taken hours, stretched into a grueling, sleepless 24-hour crawl. Our side of the road was a standstill of families trying to escape, a sea of red taillights in the dark. The only vehicles moving in the opposite direction, rushing East back into the danger, were military convoys.

We finally reached the edge. The border was right there. Safety was visible.

Isaac looked at the crossing, then he turned to Zhanna. It was a quiet moment amidst the chaos. “We don't have to leave, you know.”, said Isaac. Zhanna looked at Isaac, took a breath, and simply said, “Thank you.”

We turned the car around.

People, including a girl in pink coat and hat, inside a concrete structure with rough walls, some sitting on benches or pallets, others standing or squatting, with bags and supplies around.
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Three people in a kitchen, an older woman and man, and a young woman in a white chef's hat and apron. They are standing behind a table with jars of pickles, with kitchen equipment and window in background.

The Rehab Center

We found shelter in a physical rehabilitation care facility for children in Chernivtsi. We were among the first to arrive, but we weren't alone for long.

Zhanna: "We watched them stream into the building—families arriving from as far as Kharkiv. They were still wearing their pajamas. They were carrying only what could fit in their laps. Seeing people stripped of everything but their lives... that was the moment we knew we couldn't just watch."

A package of Lupilu soft and dry diapers with a helmet placed on top. Behind the package, a white truck and a person in a white shirt can be seen.
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A smiling young woman wearing a pink beanie, gray hoodie, and a long plaid coat standing in front of the open trunk of a van loaded with boxes and packages, outdoors in an urban area.
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A person loading cans of food into the back of a vehicle during a food drive.

The Truck from Romania

The city’s population exploded overnight. One afternoon, we went to a grocery store and saw the reality of the crisis. The shelves were bare. The sudden influx of mothers and children had wiped out the supply of baby food.

We raised a small amount of money immediately, but we quickly realized a hard truth: if we bought what little food remained in the local shops, we were just taking it away from the mothers living there. We would be eating up the local supply.

We realized we had to bring resources in from the outside. We pooled our funds and looked across the border. We organized a large van, drove into Romania, and brought back a full shipment of supplies that didn't exist in Ukraine.

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The Bird of Light

That first delivery from Romania taught us our model. We realized that while we weren't soldiers or doctors, we were connectors. We could bridge the resources of the West with the grit of the Ukrainians standing right in front of us.

We chose the Bird as our symbol because she is the light in the darkness, always bringing hope wherever she goes.

Even though our organization was born from wartime, our vision is greater than that. We want to see Ukraine rise from the ashes, not just restored, but transformed into a country greater than ever—admired by the world for its strength, integrity, and courage.

The bridge we built to bring that first truck of baby food is the same bridge we use today. Through it, we are committed to supporting Ukraine’s transformation through war and into peace.

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The bird of light guides us to ignite hope and unite light-workers across Ukraine and the West.

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See Our Work
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