Crawford MS farmer helps Ukrainian families come to Mississippi. See how to help

In between working from sunrise to sundown on his Crawford farm, Rodney Mast aids Ukrainian families seeking refuge in the U.S. Now, some of those families have planted their uprooted lives in Mississippi.

Mast has worked with Ukrainian orphans for several years. In 2018, his sister sponsored an orphan over the summer. Mast and his wife, Christine, quickly got involved and in December 2019, they adopted three young boys from Ukraine, adding to their five biological children.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Mast shifted his focus to getting orphans out.

“For the first month when the war started in 2022, my whole world was with Ukraine and moving orphans out,” Mast said.

From February to June 2022, Mast prioritized moving orphans out of Ukraine. Then, he shifted to helping families move out. He described the effort as “grassroots,” relying on local families to help the Ukrainian refugees.

How it works

After what started as a personal effort, Mast quickly became a well-known figure in the effort to help Ukrainian families. Soon, he was getting requests from families in Ukraine looking to move to the U.S. and find host families.

Many of those requests come through social media outlets such as Facebook, and communication proceeds form there through social media, as Mast helps the families connect with American host families.

Mast then becomes a liaison between the two families and often stays in a group chat with both parties to help them get settled into their new lives and help with any necessary paperwork.

“My role has kind of just become fitting the puzzle pieces together,” Mast said.

Mast works to choose host families who live in communities that mesh with each Ukrainian family’s particular interests or skill sets.

“I will have sponsors on one side and Ukrainian families on the other side,” Mast said. “Maybe the sponsor lives in a rural community where there’s a lot of agriculture, and then I have someone pop up on the other side that is an AG person. Well, let’s put them in that community.”

One family's story

Olena Zinchenko and her family are one example of Mast’s efforts.

After escaping to Germany following the Russian invasion, Zinchenko and her family found it difficult to adapt to their new lives. The language barrier was a particular challenge. Starting in the spring of 2023, Zinchenko and her husband, Oleh Lonov, posted daily on different Facebook groups, looking for a sponsor to help bring them and their son, Rostyslav, to the U.S.

They had money for plane tickets to America, but not for housing when they arrived. After three weeks of posting, Zinchenko received a Facebook message from Mast. A sponsor in Macon (Mississippi) was willing to help the family with housing. The sponsor, Mike Banks, offered Lonov a job at his company, Trailboss Trailers.

Zinchenko said this message came after she had lost her faith in finding a way to America. She immediately sent in the proper documents and, after a month of waiting, the family was on their way to Mississippi. The journey involved multiple plane rides and lasted 21 hours. Zinchenko was 28 weeks pregnant.

On June 28, a month after arriving in the U.S., Zinchenko gave birth to her daughter in Macon. Now, the family of four is settling into their new lives in Mississippi.

New life

Zinchenko said the most difficult part is living in a place where she and her family don’t know the language very well. She said her 12-year-old son has found great teachers who are helping him with his English and learning to use the metric system. She also said the people in Macon have been welcoming and accommodating to her language barrier. Banks and his wife help with things like making doctor’s appointments.

Zinchenko also said it has been difficult to find friends, especially since she stays home with her 3-month-old daughter. The family shares one car, which Lonov uses to get to and from work. He and Zinchenko often go to Walmart after he gets home so she can get out of the house. Zinchenko said she hopes to go to work when the baby gets older.

Zinchenko said it is better living in the U.S. because they are not awakened by sirens like they were frequently in Ukraine.

“For this time, it is so important. I can sleep. My children can sleep,” she said. “We can just relax and just build our life.”

Zinchenko left her parents and a brother in Ukraine. Lonov also left a brother, who is now fighting in the army there.

Helping families find hope

Mast and others like him have helped families such as Zinchenko’s find hope in a bleak situation. Mast said he doesn’t know the exact number of families that he has aided, but knows it is well over 100, most likely close to 150. The families are spread out throughout the United States.

“They want a chance at the American dream,” he said. “These are the same type of people who came to us 200 years ago. They want a fresh start. They want out of the riff-raff. They want to be independent Americans. They come in looking for work. They want to accomplish. They want to acclimate.”

He said the communities have taken them in with open arms.

“What I’ve seen a lot of is a church or a community or a club coming together and saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got an apartment over here.’ Someone else says, ‘Hey we’ve got a bed,’ ‘We’ve got chairs,’ ‘We’ve got a kitchen table.’ Some else says, ‘Hey I know of a job.’ I’ve seen communities just come together around families and help them get started,” Mast said.

In most cases the families are living independently within 60 days, Mast said.

“The goal should be to help them to become independent just like the rest of us,” he said.

When the Russian invasion first occurred, Mast said he received a steady stream of people willing to sponsor families, anywhere from eight to 12 people per month. Now, with the war falling more out of the news cycle, he’s down to three or four a month.

“As the news cycle has dropped the war in Ukraine, as it’s become old news, the burden on Americans has fallen off,” Mast said. “The truth of the matter is the people are in probably greater need now, ever since the war has drug on and things have gotten so much worse.”

Results of lasting war

Mast visited Ukraine prior to the invasion but has not been back since. He said friends who have visited since the invasion come back with tales of skyrocketing housing and food prices. Organizations like International Host Connection, of which Mast is treasurer, help to get money to struggling families.

Adoption is on hold in Ukraine until the war ends. The International Host Connection, which usually hosts orphans in the U.S. during the summer months, has now shifted to raising funds to provide basics for those orphans still in Ukraine. Mast said the budget for these basics such as food and clothes has been trimmed from $50,000 to $25,000 per month.

Many orphanages in Ukraine have taken on numbers past their capacities since the invasion. Mast emphasized the need for funds to support the ongoing needs of those orphans.

The funds come from a variety of places, and a lot of it comes directly from Mast’s pocket, he said. Funds also come from donors or local churches. As for federal funding, Mast said the government offers those families Medicaid at a state level.

The International Host Connection accepts donations through its website at https://internationalhostconnection.com/about-us.

Once they get to the U.S., Mast said he sometimes sees prejudice about the immigrant families that fades once they actually get to know the families.

“When they work beside them, when they see them up close, I’ve seen that all go away,” he said. “I haven’t seen any animosity. I’ve seen people realize that, oh, these are just normal people like us and realize that they literally drove out past dead bodies. They literally went from basement to basement to basement over the course of a number of days to get out of town.”

One woman Mast knows gave birth listening to missile and bomb sirens outside the hospital. Another took her five children on a seven-day train journey to get out of Ukraine. A similar family was holed up in a basement for months with no communication to the outside world.

“They’re telling you these stories,” he said. “I don’t care what kind of cold heart you have. It melts.”

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Crawford farmer helps Ukrainian refugee families come to Mississippi