Many people across Canada have found ways to support Ukraine, and one man in North Bay is showing his support by buying language lessons.
"The war started and some people were going through Airbnb to send money to Ukrainians but that’s not something I did," said Bob Olajos.
"But, I do take language lessons, so I looked for some Ukrainian teachers and found some, reached out to them. One of the people that reached out to me, Illia, said that he’s no longer teaching because he’s joined the territorial defence unit in his city of Sumy, so I decided that was the kind of person that I wanted to support in this."
'Illia' is Illia Koshytski, a Ukrainian man who’s a language teacher and freelance musician by day is now part of the territorial defence unit in Sumy, Ukraine.
"I spend most of my day serving," said Koshytski.
"Today, when I went out of the city, I realized that our life got very limited ... I think that I will have a moment to process what’s happening, only when the war ends, but until then I’m operating like a machine."
It’s been difficult for Olajos to get the money into Koshytski's pocket, due to intense banking security in place in Ukraine.
"I’ve gone through probably six or eight services but just this morning I found out from Illia that a small donation that I sent through finally got there and got through," he said.
Koshytski is very appreciative of the efforts.
"It means a lot and even when people are not donating to me directly, they write messages of support and support us a lot," he said.
The two have been able to connect and get to know each other over social media and Koshytski has invited Olajos to Ukraine.
Olajos said as soon as it’s safe to do so, he will take him up on the offer and head to Ukraine.
