It has been a traumatic time for many children who came to Calgary after fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Now the local community is offering its help with summer camps that aim to help these young newcomers make friends, learn English and settle into their new environment.
Anastasiia Stepanchuk came to Canada from Ukraine four years ago to finish her medical studies, but her family had no plans to come here until Russia invaded Ukraine. Her mother and her two teenage brothers made the difficult decision to leave her home once the war began. They arrived in Calgary in June.
However, Stepanchuk’s father had to stay behind.
“It is heartbreaking to see all that is happening there with all the casualties and all the massive destruction that is happening in my homeland,” Stepanchuk said.
“But considering that children here can be safe, we just have to do everything we can to help them adjust.”
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Stepanchuk is a doctoral candidate in clinical neuroscience at the University of Calgary.
Worried that refugee children will be uprooted from their homes, he embarked on a mission to help set up a summer school. Stepanchuk recruited teachers from the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District to volunteer their time for these half-day camps beginning in August.
“Keeping in mind that my brothers have arrived in Calgary three weeks ago and they are 12 and 15 years old, just thinking about how difficult it would be for them to adjust to the new system, the new environment and the new language, I realized that many newly arrivals could be facing the same problem,” Stepanchuk said. “By doing the camp, I was just trying to get the kids who are facing similar problems together and try to solve them together.
“It would be a great opportunity for children from all over Ukraine to connect in a new environment and make new friends with their fellow Ukrainians and children who share the same trauma.”
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SAIT also offers summer day camps for youth new to Calgary. Many enrolled in these camps are from Ukraine and some from Afghanistan. A scholarship program has covered the cost of many of the campers.
Part of the day camp includes an English class, as well as arts and crafts, sports, and technology and science activities.
“We’re just looking to make sure, first and foremost, that they have fun at counts with us,” said Rozlynn Wick, project manager of strategic youth initiatives at SAIT. “May they feel welcome and safe and begin to feel comfortable in their new surroundings and environment here in Calgary.
“Helping to provide a little bit of exposure to what they might be looking forward to once they get out of high school and maybe they can start looking at some programs and potential future careers.”
Ready to Study Summer School will be held in Calgary in August 2022.
Stepanchuk said she is thankful for the teachers who have come forward to volunteer their time at these camps.
She hopes the camps will help the youth adjust to the dramatic change that is currently taking place in their lives.
“It could be tough for us, it could be tough for them, but it’s nothing compared to how tough people have it there,” Stepanchuk said.
The Ukrainian Ready to Study Summer School is looking for volunteer educators. Part of the purpose is to review the Alberta curriculum with Ukrainian children in grades 4-12.
The school will run from August 2 to 19. It will be held at the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Calgary.
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