‘You don’t feel alone’: Ukrainian refugee gives back

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/11/2023 (751 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Anastasiia Sturza has seen the worst in people and now feels like she’s seeing the very best.

She and her family were driven from their home in Mariupol, Ukraine, almost 14 months ago, after the city was decimated February-May 2022 by a series of Russian attacks.

Some estimates place the death toll in Mariupol at 25,000.

The Sturza family — Anastasiia, husband Kostiantyn and sons Artem, 13, and Tymur, 3 — as well as relatives and close friends survived the deadly bombardments. But there was simply no reason for the family of four to stay.

Canada, or, more specifically, Winnipeg, would become their new home.

Now, with Kostiantyn working full-time, Artem thriving in school in Fort Garry and Tymur in daycare, Anastasiia is giving back to a city organization that provided her family with food, gifts and hope during their first holiday season in Manitoba.

She has spent the better part of a month volunteering at the Christmas Cheer Board, which has become near and dear to her heart.

“Last year, when we came here, we had some money but not enough. So, when we came here, we were told we could get this hamper from the Christmas Cheer Board,” Anastasiia says.

“I need to find the right words in English to explain my feelings. It was a great opportunity for us to save some money, yes, but it wasn’t just about the hamper. It was the feeling you get when people give you something, without pay, without anything else, only because they would like to help.

“It makes you feel happy, it makes you feel safe. You don’t feel alone.”

Anastasiia came to the Cheer Board as part of a program through the RRC Polytech Language Training Centre. Initially, she worked in data entry, however, her Ukrainian language skills and compassionate attitude were quickly put to good use.

The last few weeks, she’s been helping families from her homeland work through the hamper application process at the Cheer Board warehouse (895 Century St.).

Anastasiia recalls picking up a hamper last December, and being greeted by a man whose name she didn’t get but whose kindness she will never forget.

“I was with my younger son and one man saw my son and gave him an additional toy. He gave him a little toy dog. And my son was so happy and every day he goes to sleep with this dog,” she says, her voice cracking.

“And I hope this dog will have a long life with us because sometimes my son goes to sleep and the dog isn’t in his bed and we have to look all over the house for this dog. He loves this toy so much.”

More than 1,000 Ukrainian families new to Winnipeg applied for hampers in 2022, and Cheer Board executive director Shawna Bell is sure that number will grow for the upcoming holiday season.

“It’s looking like we’ll be on pace for that again, I don’t see that dipping,” Bell says. “We’ve been working with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress to get things up and running, so families can apply online and they can see it in their language, so that’s in place now.”

Anastasiia has been a welcome addition to the team, she says.

“After the first few days of our systems being online, we recognized a crushing demand from the Ukrainian families that are here in Winnipeg, and we spoke with her to see if she would be OK taking some of these calls and fielding the hamper applications coming from these families and she was very happy to take that on,” says Bell.

“(Anastasiia) told us she had received a hamper from us last year, and it obviously meant a lot. It’s those stories that really ring with us and make us realize why we do this. It’s all about community and seeing happy faces, making the holidays a little bit brighter for families.”

While Anastasiia’s work placement concluded Thursday, she is already making plans to continue volunteering as the holiday season approaches. And she’s expressing to the rest of her family the importance of turning gratitude into action.

“Last year, when my older son asked me, ‘Why do people do this? Why give us this hamper?’ I told him, ‘Because people wanted to help us.’ Now, when I am here in this organization and I see every day these people working so hard, I say to my son they not only want to help us but it’s because they love us,” she says.

“If you could see them, you would understand. These hampers are made with love… a lot of love. The people who pack the toys, it looks like Santa Claus’s workshop. It looks like the elves preparing gifts for children.

“I’m proud to be part of this organization, this team.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca