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Ukrainians in Canada

12.12.2014

UKRAINIAN CANADIAN DIRECTLY DELIVERS SUPPLIES, AID TO UKRAINE

“They were continuously thanking me for all the supplies I was able to bring, the letters, t-shirts with their logo… But mostly they were just thankful that someone cares enough to come visit them from a country as far away as Canada – especially a girl!”

 

Twelve GPS Garmin Navigators, two packages of various medical supplies from Health Partners International of Canada, hand warmers, Celox, and Halo Seals are amongst the many items Ukrainian Canadian Ania Jacyniak was able to personally deliver on a recent trip toUkraine. 

 

Although she has been a member of the Euromaidan Canada Committee for over a year now, she did not travel as an official representative of any organization.  Rather, she personally funded her ten day trip, driven by a personal desire to travel toUkraine, meet with some of EuromaidanCanada’s contacts, and deliver medical supplies, pictures, letters, and messages of support for Ukrainian soldiers from Ukrainian schools inCanada. 

 

“For most of my trip I was in Kyiv,” said Jacyniak, “but I also had the opportunity to travel to Starobilsk, a city in Luhansk oblast.”  The supplies she brought over were distributed to various volunteers that the Euromaidan Canada Committee has been working with.  Throughout her trip she met with many who are directly involved with the fighting in the east, including people from the 24th Iron Division, a group Jacyniak has personally been raising funds for, Vostok SOS, Aidar Battalion, the National Guard of Ukraine, as well as women currently fighting on the front lines. 

 

“It was truly amazing to talk to them about their experiences, as many of the soldiers fighting in the east are the same age as me or many years younger,” recalls Jacyniak.  “They were very thankful to receive a GPS navigator and very touched by the letters of support from Ukrainian children living inCanada.”

 

When asked about highlights during her time inUkraine, Jacyniak recounts her meeting with Michajlo Hawrlyliuk, a cossack who became well known during the Euromaidan Revolution when Berkut forces stripped him naked in the middle of winter and beat him on the streets of Kyiv.  “He was very pleasant and interested in why someone fromCanadawould care so much and want to come toUkraineat a time like this,” she said.

 

Given that significant parts of eastern Ukrainehave been embroiled in heavy fighting throughout the summer and into the fall, safety was an obvious concern.  Despite this, the young Canadian was confident in her foray closer to the front lines, as her friends who volunteer with the 24th Iron Division make the same trip every other week.  “I trusted them but I was well aware that there was always the possibility that something could happen,” Jacyniak said. “But I was determined to visit the soldiers I had been helping for so many months.”

 

After having had completed her mission inUkraine, Jacyniak headed home, but not without a myriad of memorable experiences and pictures documenting her adventure.  “A day after visiting the soldiers in the east they sent me a photo,” shares Jacyniak, “where they are all wearing their new t-shirts and behind them is the large banner of signatures and messages of support I brought them from Canada!”

 

Kalyna Kardash

 

 

 

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