COWETA, Okla. — The owners of Wild Child Coffee Co. in Coweta are from Ukraine and still have family there — one year into the brutal Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Andrew and Oksana Boyko are Coweta’s coffee aficionados. Knowing they’re safe and sound in Oklahoma, their hearts are with Ukraine. The two moved to the U.S. from Ukraine when they were children, and met in college.
“We were just living in two different worlds and trying to make sense of it growing up," Oksana said.
Now a year into the Ukraine-Russia conflict, they’re still trying to make sense of it, and it’s not coming clear.
"It’s hard to know why it’s going on," Andrew said. “There’s only two ways to end this. One is for Ukraine just to give up, and the other one is to keep fighting."
What hurts Oksana the most is that she had hoped to bring her children to Ukraine someday, and now they might not have the chance.
“It’s heartbreaking to think that there could be possibly nothing to go back to - that everything will be unrecognizable," Oksana said.
With tensions rising from some Americans questioning where U.S. Government funds are going in Ukraine, the Boyko’s understand it.
“Our government if they are sending this money I think need to be more transparent," Oksana said.
Since 2021, 25% of proceeds from their coffee shop have been donated to Christian Mission Ebenezer. It’s a nonprofit, run by Andrew’s sister, where they know, for sure, donations are getting to the right places.
“Ukraine really need to win this war on their own, with their own country," Andrew said.
For now, they’re going to keep making great coffee, and continue praying for a positive outcome.
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