Ukrainian students get head start with school supply donation by Saskatoon charity
With less than a month to go until kids return to school, Nettie Cherniatenski is packing school bags for Ukrainian students at Baba’s Closet.
When the Russian invasion started in February, she says she heard a calling to help.
“I knew I had to answer it and I just went,” said Cherniatenski. “Whether anybody said no, I didn’t listen. I just kept going. I started in my garage, three (or) four days later it was moving and blossoming so fast. I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew I had to get someplace bigger and better.”
Thanks to her organizational skills and the generosity of hundreds of locals, relocated Ukrainian families have been stopping in at Baba’s Closet to pick up necessities for their new homes and the upcoming school year.
From bedding to dishes, books and even games, families can get a little more settled in their new lives.
Two youngsters being hosted by Eugene Kucey have already been to school.
“They were actually fortunate enough to get into school at the end of June for about two weeks. So, they know where they’re going already,” said Kucey. “They’re going to Bishop Filevich. They’re enjoying the holidays yet, so we can't talk about school too much yet.”
Kucey says the boys are making the most of the warm weather by staying active.
“Oh they love basketball,” said Kucey. “They’re good in basketball, and soccer. They call it football.”
For Cherniatenski, the stories of the families escaping war are heart-wrenching.
“I really felt sorry for a boy of 17 who spent two months at Warsaw at the camp with his mom escaping the war,” she said. “And I looked at him and I thought, I have a son, what would I do if I had to leave him behind to fight?”
Bringing smiles to their faces makes the effort worth it for Cherniatenski.
“We’re one big family. This isn’t just Ukrainian, it is one big family. We’re all God’s children,” she said.
Once the fall weather arrives, she hopes to start a winter clothing drive.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.