A mother and daughter in Timberlea, N.S., are fundraising to help family members fleeing Ukraine rebuild their lives.
Julia and Alina Guk have launched a GoFundMe page and have raised over $8,700 so far.
"Whatever it takes is what we’re trying to do," Julia Guk said. "We’ve been so overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone who has contributed."
After a harrowing journey, her cousins and aunts arrived in Italy, where they are waiing for Canada’s immigration office to approve their application. Other relatives recently arrived in Poland.
In both cases, husbands and fathers stayed behind to fight.
The Guks also have family who refuse to leave Kyiv.
"Every morning we check to make sure they’re alive," Guk said.
She describes them as people who have never left Ukraine, are optimistic Ukraine will win the war, and have difficulty imagining they'll leave Ukraine for the first time now.
"We’re fortunate they still have internet connection because that is what we use to connect with them."
At times, hours go by without contact causing anxiety to escalate.
The war has pushed over 3.5 million people from Ukraine into neighbouring countries. The overwhelming majority have been women and children.
At the borders, the United Nations has seen an increase in the number of children crossing alone.
"So children who’ve lost their families along the route or are who making this journey alone," said Rema Jamois, Canada’s representative for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking, the UN is registering them and working to find their families.
Rema Jamois is in Nova Scotia this week to look at a pilot project out of Pictou County. It has been successful in matching employers with qualified refugees.
RefugePoint, a non-profit serving at-risk refugees, and the Pictou County Regional Entreprise Network successfully matched skilled refugees in Kenya with Glen Haven Manor, a long-term care facility in New Glasgow.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says it believes it could address shortages in the local health care sector, and lead to similar efforts across the country.
"We’re here to talk to some organizations and the minister and see where and how we can support the expansion of that," Jamois said. "We’re also here to recognize the incredible work of the City of Halifax, which has also done a great deal in terms of creating a very positive and welcoming environment for refugees."
Preparing for family arrivals
As the Guks prepare for the potential arrival of their family, they say they know much is needed besides financial support.
"Many people in Ukraine don’t speak English," Guk said.
"How will we make sure they’re able to access those supports around language?"
Two of her cousins are school-aged, leaving behind their fathers. Another cousin is in her 20s, newly married, and had to leave without her husband.
"People have been so kind offering furniture and clothing," Guk said.
When Alina Guk asks her family what's needed, they say to tell people, "NATO needs to close the sky" -- a move NATO refuses to do for fear the situation could escalate.
"Something has to be done and changed because obviously it’s not enough," Alina Guk said, noting people in the country are without power, water, and food -- especially in Mariupol, a city under siege.
Julia Guk wants Maritimers to think about how Canada and Nova Scotia can support Ukrainians arriving.
"Around things like daycare, language, increasing capacity through some of the programs that are already available," she said.
She says she believes schools and parents should be preparing children for the possibility of having new classmates who can’t speak English and will need assistance.
