Olga Polnitsky is hoping to repay the kindness she received when she emigrated to Canada two decades ago by welcoming a Ukrainian family into the home she shares with her husband Gary Castator.
The heartbreaking images of the devastation in Kharkiv are particularly painful for her to watch, as it used to be the city she called home.
She said it was an easy decision to invite her lifelong friend Tamara Bakum, along with her daughter and grandchildren, to stay with them.
Bakum and Polnitsky met in high school and have remained friends ever since, with Bakum even caring for Polnitsky’s ailing mother in her final days.
“When we heard the bombing in Kharkiv which happened the first day of the war and they had been hiding there for a week in the corner of their apartment, that’s when the decision came,” she said in an interview on Thursday.
Bakum’s family is currently staying at a refugee camp in Germany, along with their dog, who will be coming to Canada with them.
They will be moving into Polnitsky and Castator’s basement in May.
Castator said he immediately supported his wife when she proposed the idea of having them move in.
“They’ve gone through tremendous hardship with maybe a couple suitcases and a backpack … coming to a new country. Canada is known for its heart,” he said tearfully.
They will host the family as long as they need to, but are soliciting donations in order to help the family eventually move into a home of their own.
“We hope that Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada will open their hearts and will help us not only financially, because of course, we are two retirees and we are trying to put them up here as long as we can. We hope that eventually, they will be able to afford their own accommodation, which we know is not very easy and not very cheap in Canada.” Polnitsky said.
She said they are willing to do anything it takes to help them settle in, including acting as guarantors on their mortgage.
“Twenty years ago Canadians in Ontario did the same for me,” she said. “I knew a few families there and they never hesitated one second when I asked them to co-sign my lease agreement and I’m happy to do the same for (the Bakum family).”
The couple, who moved to New Brunswick three years ago, said many of their friends in Ontario are contributing monetary donations as well as items like clothing.
They are still trying to work out some logistical details, like how to obtain health care for the family or enroll the grandchildren in school.
Polnitsky says the kids, aged seven and 10, are excited about coming to Moncton.
“We want them to settle here under the blue sky, with no bombings, because they are extremely traumatized,” Polnitsky said.
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