'We appreciate every kind word': Community BBQ held to welcome Ukrainian refugees
As Ukrainians continue to flee their war-torn country, many who have already left, have found asylum in Canada.
"I was in Ukraine when the war started," said Valeriia Yelshynova, a refugee.
Yelshynova lived in Brovary, Ukraine, just outside Kyiv, when Russia launched wide-ranging attacks on February 24th.
"I had to go to work that day," she said.
Instead of work, Yelshynova eventually made her way to a bomb shelter in the country's capital.
"It was uncomfortable because you have no pillows there, you have no normal mattress, you're just sleeping on the boxes," she said. "We could (have) gone outside, but it was pretty dangerous because we knew Russian troops were right close to our city."
Valeriia Yelshynova took shelter in a Kyiv bomb shelter in February as the Russian invasion of Ukraine began (Supplied).
Valeriia Yelshynova took shelter in a Kyiv bomb shelter in February as the Russian invasion of Ukraine began (Supplied).
Yelshynova is now in Calgary, living with her aunt and cousin. She travelled alone to several other countries before making it to Canada.
"I travelled to Chernivtsi, in West Ukraine," she said. "I stayed there for a while, and then I crossed the border in Romania, travelled to Italy, and from Italy to Frankfurt, and then Calgary."
On Sunday, hundreds gathered at Bowness Park for a community barbeque, to welcome Ukrainians refugees to the city.
"To (help) integrate into Canadian society, (to) feel like part of the society, to be a part of a bigger group," said Roman Vlagynskyi, who helped organize the picnic-style event.
Several local organizations were also there to provide information about resources and support, including employment advice.
Valeriia Yelshynova is now in Calgary, living with her aunt and cousin (CTV News Calgary/Virginia Wright).
"So that includes everything like basic needs, like housing support, food security, so gift cards for grocery stores," said Anila Lee Yuen, president and chief executive officer of Centre for Newcomers. "It includes helping to get children into schools, and get them registered."
Lee Yuen says the demand for help won't slow down anytime soon.
"We've probably served closer to 300 Ukrainian individuals," she said. "They may all be representing families or may be individuals on their own, but we are still expecting within the thousands."
For those who have received any assistance, they say a little goes a long way.
"We appreciate every dollar, we appreciate every kind word, we appreciate any piece of food, any clothes the world will give us," Yelshynova said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.