Ukrainian church in B.C. getting ready for expected influx of refugees
Posted March 30, 2022 8:02 am.
While thousands of Ukrainians have already made their way to Canada over the last month, tens of thousands more are expected in the coming weeks.
About 6,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Canada since Russia’s invasion began but nearly 60,000 people have applied for the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel since it launched about two weeks ago.
It’s not clear how many Ukrainians have been approved so far or how many will end up coming to the Lower Mainland but some are expected to start arriving in Canada next week.
Father Mykhailo Ozorovych with the Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in New Westminster says they’re getting ready.
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“Out of a hundred families that we have [in our parish], every second family has got somebody coming,” he told CityNews, adding the church won’t necessarily be helping every one of them.
In preparation for what is expected to be an influx in Ukrainian refugees, the church has set up a website that connects people who are wanting to come to Canada with people who want to help. The parish is also planning a special task force.
“48 hours after we opened our website and portal for those wanting to come, I think we had 70 applications,” Ozorovych added. “Hopefully in the next couple of days we want to finalize and open a special task force … in our parish with hired professionals who will be coordinating work … of helping those resettle here.”
Ozorovych says the church has already helped settle about a dozen Ukrainians in Canada — all of whom were able to come through previously acquired visas.
“We’re not pretending our little parish will help solve this crisis and you know, temporarily help those settle here, all hundreds of thousands of them but if we can do a little bit, we’ll be happy,” he said.
As Russia’s invasion continues, the church also continues to help the people of Ukraine in other ways.
On Thursday, two parish members will leave Canada for Ukraine to help fight in the war.
“We partnered with [an organization] and together, I think we paid for their flights, we paid for their tactical gear from here that they can bring with them, body armour, and things like that.” Ozorovych added.
And later this week, the church is sending another package to Ukraine filled with much-needed supplies such as medicine.
