A Ukrainian mother and her two young children have found refuge with relatives in Richmond.
But this meant Yana Demenko had to leave her husband behind in the war-torn country to fight the Russian invasion.
Demenko left Ukraine a month ago with her seven-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter to stay with relatives in Richmond, telling her kids they were going on “vacation.”
“I told them, let’s go to Canada, it will be like a vacation.”
The kids’ question was why couldn’t dad come along on vacation with them.
It was the first time their family would be apart.
“He said to them, you go with your mom and I’m going to stay to defend the country,” said Demenko.
It’s like a nightmare, she added, and she cries alone a lot at night so that she doesn’t worry her kids.
It was a necessary decision, but having support from relatives in Richmond for the past month made the transition a bit easier, despite their limited English.
Like many families, Demenko said, they are still battling between the peacefulness in Canada and the memory of seeing Ukraine in chaos.
The family’s home is near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, close to the Russian border. After a week of hearing gunfire and bombing, they decided they need to leave.
“For one week, we were hiding in a place just underneath our house and we would go back and forth a couple of times every day to take shelter when the sirens sounded,” said Demenko.
Her son was so terrified, in the end, that he didn’t want to leave the shelter.
‘Culture shock’
Demenko and her family were one of 15 refugee families who attended Richmond’s Kidtropolis fundraiser to support Ukrainian refugees in Canada this past weekend.
Seeing children running around and playing was very peaceful, Demenko said, but she still worries about the Ukrainian children whose parents were killed during the war and have become orphans.
“I feel lucky and I feel the warmth of Canadians from all the support in the community,” said Demenko.
“It sometimes still feels like my brain and mind is somewhere far away from here and it makes it difficult for me to adjust still, it’s like a bit of a culture shock.”
Financial support is the most crucial aspect for Ukrainians fleeing the country and even more difficult for those who have no relatives abroad.
Despite being given an opportunity and safe haven for the time being, Demenko said she hopes more government support will be provided for Ukrainians during the transition.
“It’s about personal dignity to be able to provide for yourself and for the family,” she said, adding that English lessons would be very helpful especially for her.
“I’d love to go to work, but the kids need taking care of and if there is some form of financial support for a couple of months then I can figure out a way to earn money to move forward.”
Demenko, who is a hairdresser, said she is looking for ways to learn more English in order to serve Canadian customers, but at the moment she could only serve Ukrainian or Russian-speaking customers if she was to work.
Ginny Lam, co-owner of Richmond’s Kidtropolis, said the fundraiser’s goal was to raise money and items to help settle Ukrainian families through the Maple Hope Foundation.
“The Ukrainian community is doing amazing because they’re all banding together to help each other out, but I feel like we can get more awareness about how there is always a need for more help from our Richmond community,” said Lam.
“I want to help these families de-stress and feel safe without having to worry.”
Lam says Kidtropolis continues to accept donations of essential items to help settle families and is referring the public to make monetary donations to the Maple Hope Foundation.
