In 2009, a delegation of Canada World Youth participants from Canada and Ukraine spent three months in the Alberni Valley working on service projects, staying with host families and getting to know the community.
Now, 13 years later, some of the Canadian delegates will return to host a Ukrainian cultural night fundraiser in honour of their Ukrainian counterparts.
The arrival of 18 delegatessa国际传媒攏ine from the Ukraine, nine from across Canadasa国际传媒攎arked the first time in seven years that Canada World Youth had a presence in the Alberni Valley. The delegates ranged in age from 17 to 21 years, and had already spent three months in Ostroh, western Ukraine by the time they arrived in Port Alberni.
Some of the group stayed in touch over the years while others moved on. The war between Russia and Ukraine reunited the CWY members via an online group chat.
Nicolas Rivard said he had been following news of the conflict for a few weeks. sa国际传媒淚t affected me a lot more than I thought it would,sa国际传媒� he said from his home in Montreal. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a big part of my life. It was a long time ago but I was very youngsa国际传媒t was a very formative experience.sa国际传媒�
Rivard taught English to Ostroh university students who were the same age as he was at the time. When in Port Alberni he volunteered at Abbeyfield House.
A recent video chat with some of their Ukraine counterparts was emotional. sa国际传媒淲e feel powerless because we cansa国际传媒檛 do much from here,sa国际传媒� Rivard said.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 kind of unfortunate that it took this war to rekindle these relationships,sa国际传媒� said Ben Scheidegger, one of the Canadian participants now living in Vancouver. He said itsa国际传媒檚 difficult to put into words how he feels about what is happening in Ukraine right now.
Like Rivard, Scheidegger said it has affected him more than he expected.
sa国际传媒淭o get messages from my friends who I went to this program with that sa国际传媒榳esa国际传媒檙e hiding in basements, wesa国际传媒檙e fleeing the city, wesa国际传媒檙e getting bombedsa国际传媒檚a国际传媒tsa国际传媒檚 hard to hear.sa国际传媒�
The four CWY members who are still in B.C.sa国际传媒攊n Williams Lake, Vancouver, Nanaimo and Courtenaysa国际传媒攚ant to recreate the Ukrainian Cultural Night they held back in 2009. They have planned a fundraising dinner for Saturday, March 19 at 5:30 p.m. in the Kinsmen Community Centre.
sa国际传媒淲e did a very similar event 13 years ago when we were in Port Alberni,sa国际传媒� Scheidegger said. sa国际传媒淚t was mostly for host families and people we were close with.sa国际传媒�
The 2022 event wonsa国际传媒檛 be as elaborate as that night, said Scheidegger, but it will include some Ukrainian food and music, possibly some dancing, and a presentation on the exchange program that brought people from all over Canada and Ukraine to Port Alberni.
Scheidegger is hoping to be able to share a video with messages from some of the Ukrainian delegates, but notes it may be difficult for them to get those messages out depending on their circumstances.
Community members in the Alberni Valley are assisting the former CWY members, from donations of the hall rental to food.
The Ukrainian Solidarity Dinner will take place Saturday, March 19 at 5:30 p.m. in the Kinsmen Community Centre, #30-4090 Hollywood St., at the Alberni District Fall Fairgrounds. Entry is by donation to either the Canada-Ukraine Foundation or Ukrainian World Congress, and donations may be made by using a Smart phone. People interested in attending are asked to register through their EventBrite link, .
Organizers chose this method for making donations because they arensa国际传媒檛 a charitable organization, they are 10 people who want to make a difference, however small it may be, Scheidegger said.
sa国际传媒淔or the 10 of us, we want to maybe make our friends smile for five minutes and know wesa国际传媒檙e there with them as much as we can be.sa国际传媒�
