{"id":41721,"date":"2022-03-12T21:17:36","date_gmt":"2022-03-13T04:17:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dance-to-fundraise-for-couple-hoping-to-give-their-ukrainian-parents-sanctuary-in-cortez\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:02:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:02:57","slug":"dance-to-fundraise-for-couple-hoping-to-give-their-ukrainian-parents-sanctuary-in-cortez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dance-to-fundraise-for-couple-hoping-to-give-their-ukrainian-parents-sanctuary-in-cortez\/","title":{"rendered":"Dance to fundraise for couple hoping to give their Ukrainian parents sanctuary in Cortez"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Natalia
Natalia and Todd Erlandson hope to provide sanctuary in Cortez for Natalia Erlandson's Ukrainian parents, Volodymyr and Luba Sugak. The couple, 71 and 72, are pictured here at a Christmas celebration. \u201cThey don\u2019t look as happy now,\u201d Erlandson said.<\/span>Courtesy Natalia Erlandson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

A Saturday dance hosted by the Four Corners Dance Society will fundraise for Cortez woman Natalia Erlandson\u2019s Ukrainian parents\u2019 relocation to Cortez.<\/p>\n

But, it\u2019s going to be a long and arduous journey for them to get here.<\/p>\n

Volodymyr Sugak, 71, and Luba Sugak, 72, fled their hometown of Kharkiv after heavy bombing from Russia about 30 miles to the north.<\/p>\n

The couple had all of 10 minutes to pack what they could and run.<\/p>\n

They took shelter for a week in an underground parking garage with a handful of other families to escape shelling. There was no heat. There was minimal water. They slept on the ground.<\/p>\n

The horrific soundtrack of missiles and gunfire screamed in the background.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Erlandson\u2019s brother was in Kyiv, where he was woken in the middle of the night by explosions at the airport: his signal to move.<\/p>\n

The Sugaks are now in western Ukraine with their son, who can\u2019t escape because of martial law, Erlandson said.<\/p>\n

What would have been a day trip for the Sugaks took four days with traffic and military checkpoints.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to leave their son behind and hope that he will be OK,\u201d Erlandson said.<\/p>\n

Crossing the border could take up to 20 hours. Erlandson hopes her parents won\u2019t run out of gas in the overflowing line of people waiting to cross into Poland or Romania, she said.<\/p>\n

Erlandson\u2019s communication with her parents has been limited by unreliable Internet access, but she could speak to her mother Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re very tired: emotionally, physically exhausted,\u201d Erlandson said. \u201cIt will take them a long time to just process losing everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erlandson, registrar at Montezuma-Cortez High School, lived in Kharkiv until she was 19. She watches the familiar parks and schools she roamed as a child being reduced to bleak unfamiliarity on the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so far away from here that it\u2019s all so hard to believe,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Natalia Erlandson and her husband, Todd Erlandson, plan to build Natalia\u2019s parents a tiny house to help them start over after losing everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it would just be a big weight off my shoulders to know that they are safe and here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Todd Erlandson, a pastor at Grace Fellowship, set up a GoFundMe<\/a> for Natalia\u2019s parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re coming here with the clothes on their back and a couple of extra pants,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Erlandsons are not exactly sure how the Sugaks will make it to Cortez within the next few weeks, or if they will ever return to Kharkiv.<\/p>\n

They also don\u2019t know if the Sugaks\u2019 apartment still exists in the war-laden city.<\/p>\n

Romania may be an easier gateway with less border congestion than Poland, Todd Erlandson said.<\/p>\n

Natalia Erlandson is doing \u201cbetter\u201d with the hope of her parents\u2019 pending arrival, Todd Erlandson said.<\/p>\n

But that wasn\u2019t the case as the news of Russia\u2019s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and March 2 landing in Kharkiv broke.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was just out of her mind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Erlandsons met in Ukraine, where Todd Erlandson worked as a missionary for six years.<\/p>\n\n

Dance organizer Jan Heyl, treasurer of the Four Corners Dance Society, had the idea for the event, which will be held Saturday night at the Montezuma County Annex.<\/p>\n

The Sugaks have visited Cortez several times.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer (Erlandson\u2019s) parents have been here, and we\u2019ve danced with them,\u201d she said. \u201cIt just seemed like the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no need to be an expert dancer, she said. The group is accommodating to different styles of dance and music.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $10 for a 6:30 p.m. predance lesson, and the main dance at 7:30 p.m. is $15. Tickets for members of the dance society are $10.<\/p>\n

Apart from event expenses, all dance proceeds will go to the Sugaks.<\/p>\n

To contact the Erlandson\u2019s, email sugakukrainerefugee@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrayers are appreciated,\u201d Natalia Erlandson said. \u201cAny support is very welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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