Instead of a Santa suit, Ray Taheri opts for a red jacket as he packs toys for the children of Ukraine that he will deliver in time for Christmas.
Ukrainians celebrate Eastern Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7. Taheri will land in the Ukraine on Christmas Eve then make his way to Moldova and then Romania to deliver the 250 gifts he has collected over the year.
“The spirit of Christmas is to love, to care, to share and to feel close to your fellow human being even though you haven’t seen them,” Taheri said.
Taheri is a professor in the engineering department at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus. In preparation for his journey, some of his students made dragons in the colours of the Ukrainian flag with 3D printers to give out.
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“I want to give them to schools, not individuals and tell them whenever they feel sad they can hold this and see that someone customized this for you with lots of love,” Taheri said.
Taheri can’t best Saint Nick, so instead of making the deliveries in one night, he will be taking two weeks to deliver the toys he collected with the help of his two young daughters.
He’ll be visiting some of the schools and maker-spaces he helped on his last year in honour of his late friend, Peter Nicu.
“I went there, we had a team there and we built five maker spaces. We revamped some educational structures, we rebuilt a church on the border which was damaged,” Taheri said.
Taheri is passionate about helping others and as the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, he felt called to do something.
“It’s our duty as an engineer to be a part of the solution, or we are a part of the problem,” Taheri said.
With one hockey bag packed and one more to go, Taheri is also fundraising to help families as they continue to navigate life under fire.
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