As the crisis in Ukraine continues, many St. Albertans might be at a loss for ways to help and places to donate.
John Shalewa, president of Ukrainian Canadian Social Services, which serves the Edmonton area, said people have been calling the office asking about how they can help out in terms of providing accommodations, clothing, and donations for Ukrainian people coming to Canada.
Shalewa said they have created a database through the Ukrainian Canadian Congress website at ucc.ca.
“We're asking people to register anything that they have to offer on a database. They would go to a website … then it pops up with a form that says, 'I want to help.' You hit that and then you fill out the form [on] how you can help,” he said.
Shalewa said the organization did this to centralize everything, so staff and volunteers know what people have to offer from the different provinces and cities.
That way, said Shalewa, when people start to come over to Canada from Ukraine, the organization can look at the database and provide them with what they need.
Shalewa said he isn’t sure how many people will arrive, and the organization is waiting for all the pieces to come together. He expects a government announcement in the coming weeks.
“I've heard the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. They're saying probably in the thousands of people coming to Edmonton,” he said, but that depends on many variables, “one of them being that a lot of the people that are there now, don't want to go very far because these are women that have husbands back in Ukraine,” he said.
Shalewa said accommodation is going to be the biggest need once Ukrainians arrive.
“But again, if the government gets involved and other agencies get involved, that will go quite quickly, too,” he said.
As for what Ukrainian Social Services needs, Shalewa said the organization is looking for volunteers.
“We are asking for people to volunteer at the office here. ... [Once] people start coming here, I think we're going to really be inundated with calls,” he said.
The organization is also accepting monetary donations.
“I'm sure that we're going to need donations to use for people that will come to our office, because we're a social services sector and we help out the Ukrainian people that would ... need extra money for groceries,” he said.
He said they don’t do much of that now, but he can see that capacity growing later on.
The most important thing people need to know, said Shalewa, is that the government must act and put in place a program for Ukrainians to receive health care when they arrive, “because right now on a visitor visa, nothing's covered,” he said.
“They're not tourists. They're people that are being displaced from their own country.”
Fundraising events:
- Metro Cinema will host a screening of the documentary Dancing on Eggshells on March 22 at 7 p.m. All proceeds from these screenings will be donated to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation Humanitarian Aid Fund.
-Cheremosh Ukrainian dance company will host a Night for Ukraine on April 19 at the Arden Theatre to raise funds for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. Tickets for the event will be available soon.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
The UNHCR has a long-standing presence in the region, according to their website. They are reinforcing their operations in Ukraine and the surrounding areas and are sending resources, staff, and stockpiles of emergency supplies — include blankets, kitchen sets, jerrycans, solar lamps, and shelter materials to reinforce damaged buildings — to various locations.
“UNHCR’s teams continue to provide protection services such as psychosocial support and are setting up innovative ways to get emergency cash into people’s hands,” said the website.
In neighbouring countries, the UNHCR is present at border areas and reception centres to help identify and provide dedicated care to the most vulnerable refugees and set up helplines and information materials for people forced to flee.
The UNHCR is accepting donations on their website at www.unhcr.ca
The Red Cross:
The Ukrainian Red Cross Society is helping to relocate people to safer areas. They also have an emergency response team assisting in response to damaged homes and infrastructure.
As the Red Cross helps move people across borders, they offer temporary shelter, food, water, information, medical, psychosocial care, as well as SIM cards for staying in contact with their families.
“Several national societies have also mobilized vital humanitarian relief items to be sent to Ukraine,” said the website.
The Government of Canada was matching individual Canadian donations to the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal up to $30 million. According to the Red Cross website, that donation level was met March 4, however the Red Cross still looking for donations to support immediate and ongoing relief efforts. More information can be found at www.redcross.ca
Veterinarians without Borders:
The organization is looking for donations through its emergency campaign.
In a social media post on Tuesday, the organization said its partners Tailed Hostages of War have delivered 74 tonnes of food in the last 14 days to Ukraine animals.
Information can be found at www.vetswithoutborders.ca
