Oksana Yakusha is working alongside Canadians to aid her family, friends and neighbours back home in Ukraine who are directly affected by the Russian invasion.
The 50-year-old babysitter moved to Canada from Central Ukraine to live with her husband in Thornton five years ago. She left behind her mother, brother, sisters, niece and cousins who are now trapped there.
“No one is safe there,” she said. “My daughter fled to Poland and is living with my grandsons, but everyone else has stayed in Ukraine, including the family of my husband.”
Yakusha says seeing Ukrainians fight for their lives on and knowing her family is suffering breaks her heart.
“I’m so worried because my mom is 83 years old, has issues with her health, and her heart is not working good,” she said. “I call her and try to calm her down, but she’s crying every day.”
When her family hears sirens, they head for an underground shelter with other families.
“There are 30 stairs to go down and, after everything is finished, people help my mother go up because she can’t walk,” she said. “When they hear sirens and can’t get underground, they hide in the washroom.”
Yakusha has joined the Ukrainian Canadian Congress—Ontario. The congress is running a #StandWithUkraine campaign and is looking for people to volunteer to help Ukrainian refugees find employment, housing, immigration sponsorship, financial donations, transportation, and daycare.
“We are trying to help them get more help in Canada than they have right now,” she said. “Our people don’t want free money. They would like to work, but they do need a little help right now.”
Yakusha, who is also working with the Ukrainian Community of Barrie, says it’s hard for people to earn money in Ukraine right now, and Canada could provide them an opportunity to get their lives back on track.
“Some people have had their house destroyed,” she explained. “They had no time to prepare for this. They need everything and we need to do what we can to help them.”
The congress and the Ukrainian Community of Barrie have been accepting donations and supplies and are sending them to Ukraine, but because of the distance between Canada and Ukraine, Yakusha says supplies only get sent once a week.
“It’s a hard time,” she said. “We are using every opportunity to send help to Ukraine.”
Yakusha asks anyone who can help refugees coming to Simcoe County find immediate shelter and employment to contact the Ukrainian Community of Barrie on Facebook or email [email protected]. Yakusha says volunteers can also help with sorting supplies and donations.
“Ukraine needs some special people who can help us defend our home,” she said.
She is thankful for locals who are ready to help and have been helping.
“It’s unbelievable what the people of Canada do,” she said. “Everyone can help, even if it’s not a big thing. We just need everyone’s help.”
