It’s a new beginning for Roman Petrenko and his family, who have been the Maritimes for two mont.
This will be their first Christmas in Canada, and until now, it was not looking very good.
“We had to explain to our daughter we couldn’t buy some sweets for her and why we cannot buy toys for her,” said Petrenko.
Like many other Ukrainian refugees, Petrenko received a call from the Halifax Ukrainian Store, offering Christmas gifts for kids and pictures with Santa.
Many were excited to meet a Canadian Santa. They know him as Svaty Mikolay back home. Organizers said a familiar face is important at a time like this.
“They lost their homes, and here, they can find their new home and we want this home to be very happy,” said organizer Olena Kryshtope.
Over the last month, volunteers have been organizing and fundraising for this Christmas event. They compiled a list of families in the Halifax area and invited them all.
“It was just unexpected. Olena called me and said we need to do it, and somehow, we started doing it,” said volunteer Natalia Ivcheko.
Donations have been piling up. Organizers said they were surprised by the generosity of the community. Many gave monetary donations, while others dropped off children’s gifts.
“I mean we were opening boxes and boxes and [they had] Barbies, big trucks, and wheelies -- all the stuff that kids love to play with,” said store manager Nanette Dean.
About 80 children were expected, but closer to 100 showed up. The photographer and Santa at the event were among 60 other volunteers who showed up to make it all happen.
