Janine Winn served as a Peace Corps volunteer in western Ukraine from 2017 to 2020. There, she made many friends who she likens to “family.” Amid the war between Ukraine and Putin’s Russian forces, Winn is worried for the well-being of her loved ones, as well as the “generous” Ukrainian people as a whole. Pictured, Winn sits in her Temple home dressed in traditional Ukrainian clothing holding a doll gifted to her by a dear friend, Lesya. Kay Neufeld/Franklin Journal

TEMPLE — When Janine Winn, of Temple, last visited Ukraine for a wedding in 2021, neither she nor her friends had ever anticipated their lives would soon change forever following the invasion of Russian forces in February.

Winn first arrived in Ukraine in February 2017 as a new volunteer for the Peace Corps. Following training in the city of Chernihiv (which has since been hard hit by the war), Winn traveled to the village of Kosmach in western Ukraine. There, she moved in with and effectively became a part of a family for 2.5 years.

Winn was assigned to volunteer with community relations and after a series of events, shifted her focus to working with the kids of Kosmach.

She lived with Paraska and her family until she was suddenly evacuated due to the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

In that time, Winn learned about the vast “generosity” of the friends she made (that she now likens to family) and the Ukrainian people as a whole.

Winn said the Ukrainian people showered her with kindness. The people of Kosmach and beyond cared for her well-being, welcomed her into their families, taught her Ukrainian traditions, fed her traditional Ukrainian meals, gave her cherished gifts, accompanied her on trips to the out-of-town bazaar, invited her to celebrations and so much more.

“In many ways, I really was just adopted by this family,” Winn said. “This family was just absolutely wonderful … I ate better than I would have on my own. I certainly was exposed to a lot more traditional Ukrainian ways of doing things.”

Winn talked about how there was a language barrier with many of the Kosmach villagers. However, that did not hinder the relationships she formed. Rather, they found unique and theatrical ways to communicate that reflect how much they cared about Winn – and she, them.

Over the years, Winn has kept in touch with the friends she made in Ukraine.

She knitted a sweater for Paraska’s new granddaughter, Maria. She frequently keeps in touch with Roman, who worked in the Ukrainian peace corps office, and Olga, who she met while working at a science, technology, engineering, arts and math camp. They were both living in Kyiv before the start of the war.

Winn last traveled to Ukraine to attend the wedding of Paraska’s son, Yuri, in August 2020.

At the time, she said Russia and concerns of their invasion were “not on the radar, at all.”

On Feb. 24 – one of the first days of Russia’s attack on Ukraine – Winn spoke with Paraska’s family. Not because of the war, but to celebrate Maria’s birthday. They didn’t talk about Russia at all, Winn said. It was a celebratory conversation.

She has since not heard from Paraska, though she has reached out and offered her contact information to everyone in Paraska’s immediate family.

As it stands, Winn said most of the villagers of Kosmach are under no immediate danger. They are in a western rural area, less likely to be targeted by Russia. Though she did point out the village does not have a “direct route to Poland.”

Winn was clear to say she doesn’t consider the perpetuator, enemy to be “Russia.”

“I hesitate to say Russia. It’s Putin,” she said.

Winn said that some villagers have left Kosmach to fight in the war, though she doesn’t know any of them personally. And she said the village donated its fairly new ambulance to the war efforts.

But Winn is concerned for the friends she made in Kyiv. Roman is now fighting in the war, she said. Winn hasn’t heard from him, but follows his updates on Facebook.

“All I know about Roman is that he is fighting anytime he needs to. I think there’s many many civilians who are fighting with the army. And to the best of my knowledge, that’s Roman’s role,” Winn said.

Winn is also concerned for Olga. Olga had stayed in Kyiv to help the war effort, but has since left to join her mother and daughter in an unknown location in a safer part of the country.

Winn had been keeping in touch with Olga at the beginning of the invasion but has not heard from her recently.

She’s also concerned for the father of Olga’s child, who she knows to be fighting right now.

“Knowing that [Roman and Olga] are [in the center of the war], I am very worried for their safety,” Winn said. “Roman has two young sons who definitely need their dad.”

She added that though Kosmach community is “not personally in the kind of danger that people in the cities are in,” she is thinking of the husbands and sons and brothers of Kosmach going into the army and fighting.

While of course she worries for their safety, Winn said she is also concerned for the well-being of the Ukrainian people as a whole. She thinks of the kids she’d see around Kyiv while training to be a volunteer.

“My experience of the Ukrainian people right all along is that they were friendly and welcoming and very, very hospitable,” Winn said. “And so it’s not just the people I’m concerned about who primarily are in the villages, but all the people that I would see around me.”

Winn can’t say for certain how she sees this war playing out. But she knows that the spirit of the Ukrainian people has kept them going and will continue to propel them forward in this war.

“[The Ukrainian people] are fiercely loyal to their country. There are traditions, some even that they have to work at keeping the traditions alive, the traditions are simply so important.” she said. “People there were so fiercely anti invader.”

“I sincerely wish and hope that the Ukrainians are victorious in driving the Russians out,” Winn added. “But they need a lot of help to get there.”

Winn has compiled a list of organizations to contribute to Ukraine and the people in need.

They include RPVC Alliance for Ukraine at allianceforukraine.org, Sebastopol World Friends at sebastopolwf.org, International Rescue Committee at rescue.org, Doctors Without Borders at doctorswithoutborders.org, and International Red Cross at icrc.org.