DES MOINES, Iowa — Kseniya Herrick and her daughters have called the U.S. home since 2019.
"I was born in the south of Ukraine, in Kherson," said Herrick.
It's a life and country she remembers fondly.
"We have excellent food there," Herrick recalled. "I miss our cottage cheese."
These days, her phone is the window back into that world--a world more dangerous that she could have ever imagined or than you might see on TV.
"They don't show it all the violence that's going on," she said.
Her phone is also her link to family and friends who share tragic realities.
"He decided to protect the city which I really appreciate. He said they gave them only guns and did not give any body protection, like body armor," she said.
Herrick is also hearing their pleas.
"He called me yesterday and asked me if I can help him," she said.
For more than a month, that's what she's been trying to do. For example, she participated in a rally in Ames back in February. She's also sent money to people in Ukraine.
"People just need simple things beginning with just a means to survive," she said.
Life now is coming full circle. She used to be lawyer in Ukraine. Now, she's a law student at Drake University. She's even helping translate immigration document for a fellow Ukrainian living in Iowa.
"I'm going to help more in that case, and then there is going to be other people who will get help, like refugees," she said.
She's also facing a grim possibility about seeing her family, friends and home again.
"Nobody can be confident right now who have relatives back there," she said.