Groups gear up for Ukrainians’ arrival in Winnipeg

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This article was published 17/05/2022 (910 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Almost 700 Ukrainians have found refuge in Winnipeg since Russia invaded their country in February, and community workers are busily preparing for 350 who are set to fly to the city in a federal government charter flight Monday.

A reception centre has been set up near the airport. Ukrainians are welcomed by Ukrainian Canadian Congress volunteers and provincial officials before hopping onto buses to the Wellington Avenue location, where they are helped to fill out paperwork and begin the process of settling into their new home.

Aid groups, as well as federal and provincial officials, register the arrivals and provide basic necessities for children. The officials include provincial emergency social service workers, health department staff so they can fill out Manitoba health card applications, a public health nurse and federal Service Canada workers for social insurance number applications.

Some of the refugees stay at the hotel, while some Ukrainians leave with family, friends or others.

Emily Halldorson, Ukraine response co-ordinator of the Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations, said groups in the sector as well as cultural organizations have created a response table to help the influx of refugees.

She said the arrivals are not typical refugees. They have been approved under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel visa, which includes temporary status and a work permit.

She said the government response to the crisis, including federal charter flights and the slashing of red tape to ease their arrival, has been impressive.

One group that saw the need to get involved is the local chapter of non-profit Sleep In Heavenly Peace, which builds and gives beds to children. It has organized a build on May 28.

Jim Thiessen, chapter president, said volunteers will build 60 twin-sized bed frames and equip them with new mattresses and bedding.

“By the time we finish an installation, they can literally crawl into bed and go to sleep,” Thiessen said.

In terms of helping Ukrainians who have stayed behind, the Mennonite Central Committee has sent five containers of relief and hygiene kits to the country.

Manitobans are being asked to help the organization fill up its warehouse again.

“We are asking people to help us restock our warehouses,” said spokesperson Laura Kalmar, who noted the kits can be sent to a number of countries, including Ukraine.

Until recently, Ukrainian ports were closed due to the fighting, she said.

The organization is shipping the containers overland through Poland instead.

The kits will be distributed by its local partners in Ukraine to vulnerable people such as the elderly, people with special needs and families.

Manitobans can buy items for the kits and take them to MCC or donate cash, she said.

Relief kits contain items such as soap, shampoo, bars of laundry soap, toothbrushes, bath towels, combs, bandages and sanitary pads. The cost of each relief kit is $60.

Hygiene kits contain a toothbrush, bar of soap, nail clipper, hand towel and comb. The cost of each hygiene kit is $7.

In addition to providing items for daily life, Kalmar said the kits are “a tangible expression to people in need that they have not been forgotten. It’s like a virtual hug from someone in Canada to someone in Ukraine.”

Kits can be dropped off at MCC’s Winnipeg office at 134 Plaza Dr., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. In southern Manitoba, they can be taken to its warehouse in Plum Coulee on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For information, go to https://mcccanada.ca/get-involved/kits

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca