A North Dakota community becomes home for Ukrainians
Michael Southam, a North Dakota native, said helping others is in his DNA. “I grew up with a lot of stories of how people help each other and how that's an important personal responsibility and moral responsibility of our society,” he shared.
After living in Chicago for many years, Michael returned to North Dakota in 2022— around the same time as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—to care for his elderly parents. Soon after their passing, Michael became aware of a nearby Ukrainian family in need, and he donated his parents’ house to them. This chance encounter led to Michael’s discovery of sponsorship.
Quite accidentally, I became aware of private sponsorship [as an] avenue to assist people from Ukraine… the information that I was hearing in the news and on social media, it was appalling. It was distressing… I just was consumed and obsessed with helping. Finding a way and finding a path to help.
During the winter of 2022, Michael was connected to Alight, a Minneapolis-based organization that supports refugees from around the world. From Alight, Michael found Welcome Connect, a platform developed by Welcome.US that connected people from countries in crisis to U.S. sponsors. These individuals seeking safety were able to find refuge through humanitarian parole sponsorship programs that included Uniting for Ukraine (U4U).
In July 2023, Michael created his sponsor profile and, within a matter of weeks, connected with Vasyl, a young Ukrainian man.
Vasyl grew up in the western part of Ukraine. After studying and working in Denmark, he hoped to be able to find work in his field of computer science, but after Russia invaded Ukraine, that possibility grew unlikely.
After doing some research, Vasyl learned about the U4U program and Welcome Connect. Only a few hours after registering, Vasyl found Michael’s profile, and the two began a conversation.
Michael was already in the process of sponsoring several others, but he and Vasyl kept in touch. Over time, Vasyl viewed Michael as a friend.
Hlib was one of the newcomers who Michael was in the process of sponsoring; he had just started taking college courses in Ukraine when the war broke out. Hlib missed the bus to class one day, and because of this chance mistake, avoided the Russian occupation of Chernihiv.
While Hlib wasn’t in Chernihiv, his family was. “There was a lot of military activity, and all the needed stuff, just basic food, fuel, it was really hard to get,” he shared. His sister and her husband successfully fled to Germany, and shortly after Hlib followed. Life in Germany, however, was challenging, leading Hlib to journey back to Ukraine and the rest of his family.
Upon returning home, Hlib connected with Michael online. Michael immediately applied to sponsor Hlib in April 2023, and by June—only two months later—Hlib arrived in the U.S.
Mike is an absolutely incredible person. There are not that many people who fully immerse themselves into the situation with Ukraine right now and into that whole world… He doesn't just support the Ukrainians here… he lives with Ukrainians through all of this.
After Michael resettled the newcomers he first sponsored, including Hlib, Vasyl received a message from Michael that would change his life. Vasyl shared that he was at work one day when he received a message from Michael that said he could offer sponsorship. “I remember that feeling. I was really happy,” Vasyl said.
In August of 2023, Michael submitted the application to sponsor Vasyl, and by December, Vasyl embarked on his 35-hour journey to North Dakota. As Michael eagerly jumped into sponsoring seven Ukrainian beneficiaries, he looked for support through local resources and found the New American Consortium, where he met Marina Behm.
Marina is a sponsor and second-generation American who is fluent in both English and Russian. Prior to the launch of U4U, she supported Ukrainian newcomers who arrived in Fargo, and then became deeply involved in welcoming Ukrainians to her community. Marina also personally sponsored seven individuals of her own.
“When I meet these friends who are Ukrainian, and my roots are Russian, and that we can be like brothers and sisters, it's just like there's no words for it. It's so valuable to me.” She added, “We share similar food, language, culture, heritage. They’re my family.”
Shortly after their meeting through the consortium, the pair connected with a third community member who was looking for volunteer opportunities to give back. Seeing the strong interest to help, Michael realized that they needed a formal way to harness the interest and support of their community, and FM (Fargo-Moorhead) Volunteers for Ukraine was formed.
Since the launch in summer 2023, FM Volunteers for Ukraine has supported over 200 newcomers who have arrived in the state. They help these newcomers with every aspect of their resettlement, from airport pickups to finding housing.
“We’ve got this beautiful community that is there to help one another and support one another,” Marina explained.
The organization has had an incredible impact through their extensive support network. Olivet Church in Fargo donates household items, clothes, meals, and runs a food pantry that is open to newcomers. They are an official referring partner to the Furniture Mission of the Red River Valley, which has donated furniture to help newcomers as they begin their new lives. They also have countless local employers who have hired newcomers.
Hlib and Ivan, two of the newcomers assisted by FM Volunteers for Ukraine.
One of those employers, ComDel, a manufacturing company in North Dakota, even restructured their corporate organizational flowchart to have a department that would employ Ukrainian newcomers.
This connection greatly impacted Vasyl, who after living with Michael for a few months, found employment at the company and finally reaching his dream of working as an engineer. In addition to employment, ComDel also offers housing to its Ukrainian employees, where Vasyl now lives.
Vasyl reflected, “I remember sitting on the plane. I already forgot about Denmark and my work. I forgot about [those] last 25 months of my life because I knew it will be a great future here… Even if it was really hard, I [am] still thankful for all of this.”
Although he is grateful for the opportunity to live in the U.S., all of his family remains in Ukraine, and he thinks about them all the time. Despite his wishes to be reunited with them, he remains in North Dakota because of the life he has built and the ongoing conflict in his home country.
"Ukraine is our home and we always will think about it, about home," Vasyl said.
As newcomers like Vasyl and Hlib continue building their lives in North Dakota, their futures have become uncertain. The government has ended humanitarian parole programs like Uniting for Ukraine, leaving many unsure of what comes next. You can share your support for private sponsorship to help ensure that life-changing opportunities—like those made possible by Michael, Marina, and the Fargo-Moorhead community—remain available for others in need.
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