Client Story

In the months leading up to their relocation they didn’t sleep. Nadia explains, “sirens went off all night long and we opened our home to strangers heading west, so they could escape the dangerous invasion of their homes the was approaching”. It was a time of extreme stress, they would go to sleep each night not knowing what the morning would look like. Despite it all, they wanted to stay in Ukraine, but the stress on their kids was too much.   

While they escaped the war, their new life in Ontario was not easy. They arrived with “three kids and five suitcases,” speaking little English and finding themselves in an unfamiliar culture. The cost of living was far greater than what they expected and while they came with savings, they were used up quickly. Nadiia accessed food from the local food bank in their city in Ontario but found the experience disheartening to the point that she would come home and cry after each visit. She and her husband had owned their own business in Ukraine and were able to help others by buying them clothes and food, she never imagined that she would be in this position.   

A few months ago, Nadiia and her family decided to head west to Calgary. Despite her bad experiences in Ontario, she decided to try using the Calgary Food Bank. Her first time using it she says she was surprised by the drive through model of delivery. She waited in her car as volunteers brought out her hamper, and she loaded it into her vehicle the same way you might at a grocery store. No tears were shed on the drive home.  

Nadiia and her family are starting to enjoy their new life in Calgary. Rent is expensive for a family of five, especially on a single income, but Nadiia attends English classes daily in the hopes of finding employment. She was helping to supplement the family’s income by taking on housecleaning work, but a recent Lupus diagnosis means that is not an option for her any longer.    

“I pray a lot, and I hope that one day we don’t have to come to the food bank. But for now, we have to. We don’t have another way,” she says, “thank God for the people who donate money and food to the food bank”. 

Despite their challenges Nadiia says her kids are adjusting well at school and the family has found community with the many other Ukrainians who have come to Calgary in recent years.