Ukrainian Youth Association make country’s flag to celebrate homeland. Photos by Tom Godfrey.
Members of Ukrainian Youth Association were making a flag of coloured plastic strips to bring attention to the deadly war in their homeland.
The youths gathered at the T. Shevchenko Ukrainian Community Centre, on Horner Avenue, to highlight the suffering and deaths of people there.
“We are raising awareness of the war in Ukraine,” said Natalie Tchoryk, of the association. “Most people have friends and family back at home.”
MOTORISTS loved the Ukrainian flag made with coloured ribbons on a fence.
The bright yellow and blue strips were placed in the shape of the Ukrainian flag, which pleased many motorists as they drove by.
The youths are among many Ukrainian students in Canada who have to cope with financial and social impacts of raging war, in which almost four million people have fled the country.
The thousands of Ukrainian foreign students are concerned about how to afford living here as their families at home are displaced and lose access to their earnings. That and the constant concern for their loved ones, has made daily life difficult.
The University of Toronto is offering financial assistance to students affected by the war in Ukraine, saying graduate and undergraduate students are able to apply for emergency grants program and ask for tuition deferrals for the summer and fall semester.
The university recently launched a $1-million matching fund for donations supporting displaced students from Ukraine, along with emergency grants to Ukrainian students affected by the war.
Humber has the highest number of Ukrainian students of all colleges in Ontario, with a total of 183 students, with some 138 students in Canada and 45 in Ukraine learning remotely, officials said.
The school has been acting quickly to provide academic accommodation and mental health counselling, but also connect with student groups to spread the word on what supports are available.
Humber has released a package of financial supports that includes tuition and housing aid as well as bursaries for living expenses. Humber’s student federation has agreed to donate $370,000 to that effort for Ukrainian and Russian students.
Schools like Centennial College and George Brown College are also giving emergency funding to Ukrainian students. George Brown made an additional $250,000 available to students affected by conflict in Ukraine, Russia and Eastern Europe.
Many Ukrainian students are not sure if they will be returning home after they graduate due to the war and bombings.
Since January 1, more than 6,100 Ukrainians have arrived in Canada. All immigrants, refugees and visitors, including temporary foreign workers and students, undergo screening.