Vegreville Embraces First Family to Arrive from Ukraine

Vegreville Embraces First Family to Arrive from Ukraine

Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent

Vegreville and Area Stands With Ukraine Committee welcomed its first family from Ukraine on May 15.

Communications Chair Nicole Lakusta said, “On Sunday night, myself and Sandi Humeniuk drove to the Edmonton airport to welcome the Koval family who have now come to live in Vegreville.

This is what the Vegreville and Area Stands With Ukraine Committee has been striving for. We are privileged to be a part

of this endeavour and to be able to assist this family in any way we can to settle them into this community. Roman, Olya and their children Yura, 11, Oleh, 7, and Taras, 3, are now in town and getting oriented. We are grateful to the Rudyk family for all of their efforts in this process. The community coming together is just a beautiful thing. It is our duty as humans to help each other. That is what we are working for everyday on the Vegreville and Area Stands With Ukraine Committee and it is what we will continue to do.

What an incredible honour to be able to stand at that airport gate and welcome this family. Emotional is an understatement. We all have the right to live safely and raise our families. Welcome Koval family!” Lakusta said.

Vegreville Mayor Tim MacPhee said, “I wish that the circumstances were a lot better for the people of Ukraine, but knowing that this community is prepared and is working hard to be ready to accept more families, and to help the citizens of Ukraine through these trying times, makes me feel very proud of our community.”

In front row from L-R. Taras Koval, Carol Rudyk, Oleh Koval, Olya Koval, Roman Koval. Back row from L-R. Eugene Rudyk, Taneen Rudyk and Yura Koval.

(Rosanne Fortier/Photo)

Vegreville Town Councillor Taneen Rudyk said, “We are grateful to be able to live in a community that offers safety and support to the Koval’s. Ukrainians have been thrown into turmoil by the actions of Russia and it is up to us as Canadians to answer the need for help and become an active player in the events of history.

On a personal level to once again meet, this time in Canada under completely different circumstances is both heartbreaking and inspiring. Hearing the boys already speaking English phrases in amongst Ukrainian is amazing. Vegreville is answering the call for help just like they have with the Vietnamese boat people, the Syrian refugee, and now with displaced persons coming from Ukraine,” Taneen said.

Eugene Rudyk said he and his family and himself are very excited to welcome the Koval family to Vegreville. “This family has been staying in Vegreville Garden Inn. My wife Carol has a rental home where our target date will be June 1 when they will be able to rent this home from her.

They are distanced relatives of mine. My uncle, John would be their great, great grandfather.

I am very happy for them because they can start a new life over here. Even in the existing days and weeks to come, they won’t have to suffer the trauma; especially the little boys having to listen to sirens and having their lives totally disrupted.”

Carol said it is really nice to have the Koval family come to Vegreville. “The family are very gentle people. They seem to be very humble and they are very modest. They just really fit in with whatever we are doing and with wherever we are going. The children are very well behaved. They are friendly and warm hearted people. They are enjoying the peace that they feel over here and being able to come and go as they please. The fear of war is behind him. It is a real pleasure to have them in our home and in Vegreville,” Carol added.

Vegreville and Area Stands With Ukraine Committee has been really helpful. Even the Red Cross were impressed with how Vegreville has got things together and made it as peaceful a transition as possible for the family,” Carol explained.

When I interviewed Olya Koval she said she thinks Vegreville is a great town. “All the people are very friendly. The town is very beautiful. Our hopes for the future are we hope that the war will stop. This is our goal and dream. We want to work and live over here for a definite time. We want our kids to have a normal life and for them to go to school as usual. We came here to be safe.”