Former Webb Ukrainian exchange student rescued
“We’re finally safe,” she stated in an e-mail shared by Liz Gregor, director of International Studies at Webb School of Knoxville, where Tryukhan attended during the 2007-08 school year while behing hosted by RCF. “We’re not afraid to fall asleep.
“Rotary is awesome,” she also stated earier in an e-mail to RCF member Bill Nichols, Rotary Outbound chairman. “The amount of support I have received from everyone I know from Knoxville is unbelievable. Just so you know, none of my friends in Crimea even bothered to ask me how I was doing.
“Thank you so much! Please tell everyone that I love Knoxville and Webb with all my heart! It is truly one of the best things that ever happened to me. I’m sending you love and hugs all the way across the ocean,” she stated in her e-mail.
On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded the Ukraine in the early morning hours. Tryukhan, who is from Kyiv, recently made pleas for prayers on Facebook and also reached out to former RYE student Ivana Sabakova of Slovakia and Sabakova’s father, Jurji, a Rotary Club of Zilina (Slovakia) member. Tryukhan and her children, Mark, 3, and Polly, 1, made it to safety into Slovakia Friday, March 18, with Jurji Sabakova’s assistance. Tryukhan’s husband remains behind in Ukraine, where he serves with Ukraine’s Army fighting the Russians.
“Rotary is a great organization,” Nichols said during RCF’s Wednesday, March 16 meeting. “You can’t believe it until times like this.
“It’s real interesting the relationship between Rotary Clubs,” he added.
RCF first learned of Tryukhan’s situation from an e-mail Gregor sent to Nichols and Tom King, RCF’s public relations chairman.
“We’ve kept in touch through Facebook, and she’s very worried as she’s living in Kyiv, and I hear Russian troops have just reached the city,” Gregor stated in the March 1 e-mail.
“Please keep her in your thoughts and hearts. It’s at times like this that the war 4,000 miles away seems a lot closer due to that personal connection.
“She had a wonderful year before heading back to Ukraine to continue her education in Kyiv,” Gregor added about Tryukhan. “She married in 2014 and has two beautiful children.
“She added this link for folks who are asking how they can help Ukraine in practical ways: https://how-to-help-ukraine-now.super.site/?fbclid=IwAR1qAFgvrTX7qiid7rLGojPWIN_hLrRMZn90-BQJqX20gRETNg8IFUvf4ao
“After Webb, I went to the International Christian University in Kyiv and got my bachelor’s degree in management,” Tryukhan stated. “I have been working in the Ukrainian IT Company for 12.5 years now.
“I currently work in human resources and recruiting, holding the position of the HR and recruiters lead and HRIS administrator,” she added. “My company is holding up OK during the war. I continue working remotely. Therefore, I think we will be able to afford staying in Slovakia for a while.”
Sabakova said in an e-mail to farragutpress that Tryukhan contacted her March 13, telling her she and her children “managed to get out of Kyiv “ and were in Uzhorod, close to the Slovak border.
“She also said they were thinking about crossing the border and asked if I can provide any contacts for real estate agents in Slovakia,” Sabakova added.
While Sabakova lives in Prague, Czech Republic, she forwarded the message to her father, whose Rotary Club found a flat in Zilina for Trykuhan and her two children.
“On (March 18), my father drove to the Ukrainian border and picked up Julie and her family, then drove them back (to Zilina) ... As Julie writes, Rotary changed her life as a student and now again as an adult in 2022,” Sabakova said.
“We moved to a very nice apartment that Jurji has found for us today,” Tryukhan stated in Gregor’s e-mail.
“We get to hear music on the radio ... and go to a grocery store where the shelves are not empty — life is getting back to normal again” in some ways.
“I’m worried sick about my husband and all my friends who are still in Ukraine, but I know that we have to stay strong for them, continue working and find ways to help Ukraine,” she added.
Meanwhile, “We stay in touch with him, which I’m very thankful for, but it breaks my heart seeing how much my older son misses him,” Tryukhan stated.
Still, she appreciates all of the assistance.
“I feel like God sent these people to me, otherwise, I cannot explain how I got so lucky,” Tryukhan stated.
“They were kind enough to let us stay at their house. Jurji has done so much for us that no words can describe how grateful my family is. And will forever be,” she added.
“Another big thank you goes to the Rotary Club.”
It’s no wonder why.
“When I realized we would be getting help from the Rotarians, I knew that same second my family would be safe and in good hands and that I could trust everyone involved,” Tryukhan stated.
“I am so happy I got to be a part of the Rotary family,” the Ukrainian added.
