Edmontonians gather 10,000 kg of emergency supplies to send to Ukraine
CBC
In less than a week, members of Edmonton's Ukrainian community have gathered more than 10,000 kilograms of emergency supplies to help their homeland.
From morning until night, volunteers have been sorting, packing and weighing boxes full of canned food, baby food, gloves, survival kits, medical supplies and other items in the basement of the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada's Edmonton hall, northeast of downtown.
Ruslana Yurystovska, a dental assistant taking time off work to coordinate the aid effort, first posted a call for donations on Facebook on Sunday.
Moved by pictures of children sleeping in subway stations, she thought about her own children and the supplies they would need to keep warm. Born and raised in Ukraine, Yurystovska came to Canada 15 years ago and her parents, sister and friends still live there. She has hardly slept this week, fearing for their safety as Russia's invasion of the country continues.
Yurystovska estimates between 500 and 1000 people have contributed to the campaign, including people from Red Deer, Calgary and other community organizations in Edmonton.
"We are now a big family," she told CBC News on Wednesday. "We all support Ukraine."
Mykola Vorotylenko, the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada's Edmonton branch vice president, said he helped organize aid for Ukraine in 2014.
"Unfortunately, I need to help and teach the young generation how to do it again," he said.
Yurystovska said the group is still accepting donations, prioritizing medical supplies and baby formula, but their most urgent need is help with delivery.
Their first plane carrying supplies is expected to arrive Thursday in Poland, but the group wants to send more shipments as soon as possible.
Solomiya Cherkavska, a teacher who came to Canada four years ago and has many family members and friends in Ukraine, has been trying to convince the provincial and federal governments to help the group secure cargo space for future shipments.
She hopes the Canadian military will help deliver their supplies.
"We need a strong connection with the government and we need reliable transportation," she said.
According to the 2016 census, Edmonton had the biggest Ukrainian population in Canada with 159,945 residents.