Hello, from Helen and Jean-Michel!

We’ve been wondering how we can help Ukrainian families displaced by Russia’s February  2022 invasion.

One way is to support the normalization of daily life and to provide opportunities for unexpected joy during difficult and dark times.

We are raising funds to sponsor Margo, a 16-year-old Ukrainian high school student currently seeking refuge with her mother in Poland, so she can participate in The Polish Academy of Canada annual Canada Study Tour organized by founder Alina Deja-Grygierczyk.

Margo will participate in an empowering two-week study and leadership tour, May-June 2022, with 6 Polish students the same age. Margo will explore Canadian cultures and current issues through visits to Canadian universities, governmental and environmental institutions, and she will take part in leadership programs and conferences.

Margo,  her mother and her siblings fled the worst of the deadly incursion in Ukraine’s east with little more than a suitcase. She will bring to her learning experience in Canada resilience, adaptability and courage. While she develops her leadership skills, she will also have respite from tragedy.

Since arriving in Poland, Margo has been learning Polish and facing the challenges of trying to adapt to a new life. But, she is “glad that we are safe, we have a place to live, food, clothes, water, light.” But not her father, who remains in Ukraine to fight.

Margo says that “a trip to Canada means a lot to me… to improve the language, a chance to see another country” and an opportunity to experience travel for the first time.

While she waits to return home to Ukraine, Margo tries to imagine her future. She cannot see herself in five years “because every day the world changes.” But, she aspires to be either a journalist or a police officer.

And while she will miss Margo while she travels across Canada, Margo’s mother says that “my daughter’s happiness is my favourite dream. That she would find her self and a place in this world. Thank you for your help and support for Ukraine.”

What is Needed: $5,500.00 for flights, travel across country, accommodation, food.

Thank you for your support of Margo so that she can experience joy during these dark times.

 

 

About Us:

Helen is an educator and writer. I have facilitated some aspects of past Canada Study Tours.

Jean-Michel is a photographer and book designer, and has worked with students most of his life.

We are a married couple and have hosted Study Tour participants in our home, as we have known Alina nearly 15 years.

Both of us are children of post-WWII immigrants. Helen, Polish. Jean-Michel, Ukrainian. This is why we want to do more to help Ukraine and its youth.

We believe in the cross-cultural benefits of the Canada Study Tour and that participation in the program will provide Margo with opportunities to experience something outside events that have had dramatic and tragic impacts on her life, her family, her home, her country.

We believe Margo’s participation in the study tour will empower her and bring joy into her life, when most needed. That is why we have begun this fundraising campaign with a $500.00 contribution.

We hope that you, too, share our passion for making a direct and specific difference, with heart, in Margo’s life.

Please chip in with what you can to help us sponsor Margo so she can participate in The Polish Academy of Canada 2022 Study and Leadership program.

Thank you very much! Merci beaucoup! Dziękuję bardzo! Дуже дякую!