“It’s definitely still unbelievable,” Yuliya Gorbach said on Thursday in Calgary. “We’re going to be living in full-scale war, absolutely unjustified, for a whole year.”
Gorbach is the chairperson of the Calgary Ukrainian Welcome Committee.
Like many groups helping Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion, the committee is as busy — if not more so — as it was one year ago.
Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
“Now, we’re doing a lot of work who run from that Russian aggression — to Canada, to Calgary and need to settle here,” Gorbach said.
Milana Broko Benko did just that. Eight months ago, she fled Ukraine with her husband and infant son, and found an apartment and jobs — and daycare — in Calgary.
Broko Benko teaches English as a second language — and many fellow Ukrainians are her students.
“It’s amazing. I don’t only teach, I can help them,” she said. “They all need English because they can’t find jobs without English … but also we can give them some advice. Some issues they have, we can help them.”
Broko Benko said it was a difficult decision to leave the rest of her family in Ukraine, especially with a new baby.
“Here, we are by ourselves,” she said.
“It wasn’t an easy transition for us but we know we have to continue to build our life here. Now the situation is horrible in Ukraine. They don’t have electricity or heat.”
Knowing what it’s like there, she constantly worries about her parents.
“You never know if you will be bombed.”
Broko Benko can’t believe it’s been a year since Russia invaded.
“When it all started, that’s what we were told by the government, it would last a week or a month … It’s not stopping. It’s getting worse and now it’s a year.”
Despite feeling safer now, Broko Benko said witnessing war has changed her perspective.
“We don’t plan. We had huge plans…. There are so many horrible things happening around the world, now we cannot plan anything.
“We live this month (and) we’ll see what will happen next.”
The Alberta government announced Thursday that it is providing a $12,000 boost to the Red Deer Public Library to help Ukrainian newcomers learn English.
The province said the library’s Adult Literacy Program has seen a jump in demand over the past year.
Catholic Social Services desperate for donations to help displaced Ukrainians
Since March 2022, Catholic Social Services has helped 2,500 Ukrainians arriving in central Alberta, mostly Edmonton and Red Deer.
The group is busier now than it was when the war began. Now, it fields about 60 calls a day for help.
“It’s really challenging to accommodate all requests,” said Margaroyta Marion, director of immigration and settlement with CSS.
“We have a Ukrainian response team at Catholic Social Services that consists of three staff members who receive calls and try to accommodate as many requests as possible. So we just try to manage as much as we can.”
CSS launched another campaign Thursday, asking Albertans for donations with the goal of raising $100,000.
“The need for help is outpacing the funds available,” said CEO Troy Davies.
“Watching a global conflict unfold can make many of us feel powerless. But this is a real and concrete way that you can help here in your own community.
“We can’t do the work that we need to do and that people need done unless the money comes in. It’s as straightforward as that.
“For those that are arriving into Alberta and into Edmonton, we want to make their journey easier and we want that resettlement process to go smooth.
“These are folks that have fled war. They’ve crossed oceans to get here to a place of safety. And it’s really difficult to adapt to your new land and to begin to flourish if your critical needs — food, clothing, housing — can’t be met.”
If people can’t afford to make a financial donation, volunteering or donating furniture are other ways to help. Albertans are also asked to consider hosting.
“We rely heavily on Canadian hosts for temporary accommodation,” Marion said.
“Again, Refugee Relief Fund helps us to cover costs for emergency stays at some of Edmonton’s hotels, with which we have discounted rates. We really rely on the Ukrainian community as well for help and support.”
David Bryenton became a very active supporter of Ukraine in the first few days after the war started. He noticed family and friends of Ukrainians coming into his store, Battle Rattle Tactical, to pick up supplies to send overseas.
It wasn’t long before he was taking trips over there himself — with supplies and donations.
“We have sponsored 11 missions over to Ukraine up to this point and all have been relatively successful.”
Bryenton said he’s been able to bring about $1.5 million in aid to Ukraine. He stresses that is not just from him, but donated by the community.
During his last trip, they paid for repairs on a vehicle used to evacuate people from the front lines.
“It’s really a combination of medical supplies that we have gathered from the Edmonton Ukrainian community, to military protective gear, to headlamps for civilians that have no power.
“Each time is different,” he said. “Unfortunately on occasional basis, you find out that some of these guys have paid the ultimate price, that they’re no longer there or, in the last case, we found out that five of the friends have actually been captured by Russia.
“I fear for their well-being immensely.”
He recently opened his home to a young Ukrainian couple he met through a newcomers Facebook group.
“The last minute there was a young couple that did not have a place to stay that, you know, had literally dollars in their pocket and a backpack and their bag,” Bryenton said.
“They arrived two nights ago. Yesterday, we got them a job, we got them their social insurance number, just trying to help them acclimate into the Canadian way.”
Artur Babych and Karyna Dyshkant say they don’t know where they’d be if they hadn’t met Bryenton.
“We leave our country and we go, we went to Poland. We lived in Poland almost one year,” Dyshkant said.
“We have a great chance to come here to start new our lives.”
Edward Cooney has been back and forth to Ukraine several times in the last year. When he saw the war begin, the Edmonton grandfather was moved to act. He gathered all the money he could and booked a flight.
“These people needed our help,” he told Global News on Feb. 15. “My kids are growing up they’re all doing OK. I did my part for my children I think and it’s just time to help, so I literally just did what I had to do to get over there.”
Cooney ended up working in Hell’s Kitchen, a volunteer-run service that prepares hot meals for front-line troops.
“I was there the first time in April and worked with these guys directly with the military, armed forces, international forces…. I went back in September doing the same thing: delivering food, packaging, cleaning toilets, whatever they needed me to do.
“It’s basically cleanup and making sure the civilians (and) the (troops) get fed at the front lines and keeping them warm,” Cooney said.
“As of last week, we’re still feeding about 12,000 to 13,000 a week,” he said. “That’s mostly civilians and military personnel.”
The operation is located just 30 kilometres from the Russian border. Cooney said the noise of war is jarring.
“You’re always scared, you just learn to keep it together somehow and just keep moving. People beside you are in just as much danger as you are.”
For him, it’s worth the risk.
“To be a part of it is overwhelming. I can’t say enough about these young soldiers.”
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