Our family has had the wonderful opportunity to host Galina Sokoliuk and her three daughters, Valeriia, Veronika and Varvara, for two months in Calgary. Due to the war in Ukraine, Galina and her girls left their home and all of their possessions behind. Galina is incredibly positive and resilient despite the uncertainty and stress of moving across the world as a single mom, speaking little English, and having no financial support. She is not afraid to work hard and has jumped at every opportunity to learn English, volunteer in Calgary and become independent in Canada. Despite having a Masters in Finance, Galina is looking to take on multiple minimum wage roles to support her family while juggling being a mom and taking full-time English courses. She is not afraid or too proud to do what needs to be done to get by.

With this background, I reach out to our community to support Galina in getting started in Calgary. I have no doubt that she will succeed in Canada; she has terrific experience and personality to bring to our country. However, with extra financial assistance, she will be able to focus primarily on learning English so she can quickly put her skills to use and not remain underemployed. All funds raised for Galina will assist with rent during her first year in Canada. We are excited that Galina has decided to rent nearby in Lakeview so we can continue to help, grow our friendship and witness her family connect with our lovely neighbourhood.

Please get in touch with me directly if you prefer to assist in any other way. We have a list of items needed to set up Galina's apartment, get her girls ready for school and winter, and we appreciate any connections to employment or resources you may have. I appreciate your consideration; the generosity of strangers has humbled us in this process. Thank you.