When war broke out in Ukraine, it forced many to leave the country. Many fled to Canada and by February 2024, about 300 families had made Manitoba their new home.

Daryna Malyukh, president of the Ukrainian Association of Southeastern Manitoba, says they continue to welcome Ukrainian families to Manitoba.

“We still get newcomer families coming here, but not just newcomers from Ukraine fleeing the war, but also families who fled the war but chose another province are moving to Manitoba. We have a few families who originally chose BC and have now moved to Manitoba because they heard a lot of good things.”

She continues: “We don’t have as many people as we did at the beginning of the war, but we still have families coming here and settling in. I recently had contact with a family of five who arrived here just a few weeks ago and have started their new life here.”

Mark Budala of Solomon’s Furniture in Steinbach with Chris Goertzen accepting donations of mattresses in 2022

As new families move into Manitoba and Steinbach, they may need furniture. Malyukh says the community has been great in donating to them.

“We appreciate the community for all the donations that have come in since the first day of the war and continue to come in. The beginning of our story was that we had our donation furniture center at Southland Church, and then that project was completed. However, Southland Church still helps families that come forward, but they also rely on furniture donations. We have so many people that contact us directly through emails and phone calls to say that they have donations and that the furniture needs to be picked up.”

Malyukh says they no longer have a storage center, but they are still accepting donations.

“People contact me, or members of the association, and we communicate quickly and connect the people in need. We really appreciate that you still contact us and remember us.”

The Southeast Ukrainian Association continues to meet on Saturday mornings at Steinbach Mennonite Brethren Church. Malyukh says Viktoriia Romaniuk is in charge of hosting the meetings and always finds interesting topics to discuss.

“It’s not only an opportunity to come and find information, but it’s also a good time to connect and meet other people.”

Locals celebrate Ukrainian Independence Day in KR Barkman Park in Steinbach in 2023

On August 24th from 2pm to 8pm they will also be hosting a Ukrainian Independence Day celebration at AD Penner Park. Mark your calendars.

“Last year, more than 400 people visited this day. This year we expect more. Even in the wartime, when it was difficult to celebrate, it is still very important for the Ukrainian people to celebrate Ukrainian Independence Day. It means that wherever we are, we know that Ukraine is our homeland and we stand for independence.”

For more information, visit the Ukrainian Association of Southeast Manitoba website and Facebook page.

With files from Adi Loewen