Six Ukrainian families living in Simcoe County united

It was an early Easter celebration for some Ukrainian families in Barrie.

The Barrie Kiwanis Club put on the event for the six newcomer families that they sponsored to come to Canada last year.

“So we thought gathering for an Easter event would be fun and we do an Easter egg hunt for the children. One of the moms made borscht for everybody and it’s just a time of camaraderie for them to see each other,” said Helen Ellement, Barrie Kiwanis Club Board of Directors member.

This was the first time the families had been together since moving to Canada, bringing a sense of community in a foreign country they now call home.

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“We have a lot of topics what to speak about or something like this, to share some emotions or something like this, so for us, especially for our kids, it’s very important to connect each other, to have such a wonderful day,” said, Yullia Homa, who moved to Canada six months ago with her husband and three kids.

Homa said although it was difficult initially, they have started adjusting to life in Canada.

“It’s not so easy to change everything in our life. But because of the kindness of Canadians, because of open hearts, because of help of people, because of love that we see, it’s easier to be here,” said Homa.

Ellement said the support from the Barrie community has been overwhelming.

“It’s kind of been like a community effort to help them all and I think when you talk to the Ukrainian people most of them are pretty happy here now as long as they’ve got some support,” she added.

The Barrie Kiwanis Club plans to host more events in the coming months to keep all of the families connected. The club is also accepting financial donations to support families with living costs.