This conversation was recorded in early 2025. Event references reflect that date.
Ukrainian newcomer Olena Lavrishcheva speaks with Pawlina about her family’s extraordinary journey from Kyiv to Nanaimo, their experience of the full‑scale invasion, and the community work now emerging on Vancouver Island.
Olena recounts how she, her husband, and two of their daughters were unexpectedly outside Ukraine—on a cruise in Dubai—when Russia launched its brutal assault. Their four younger children and son‑in‑law were still in Kyiv. What followed was a frantic, days‑long effort to reunite the family at the Romanian border, followed by months of displacement in Turkey and Germany before finally settling in Nanaimo. Today, eleven family members are here.
Before the war, Olena ran a private school in Kyiv and worked with youth through a missions foundation, including educational programs in Turkey. In Nanaimo, she is a teaching assistant at Nanaimo Christian School, while her adult daughters—also trained educators—have secured teaching positions. Alongside work and family responsibilities, Olena has helped launch a new community organization: the Canadian Alliance of Ukrainian Workers.
She explains that the Alliance was created to unite Ukrainians and Canadians who want to support humanitarian needs in Ukraine and help newcomers integrate and contribute locally. The group brings together people with Ukrainian roots and local supporters who want to take meaningful, practical steps—small but impactful—to assist those affected by the war.
Olena also describes the organization’s early initiatives, including a community cultural event held in February 2025 to mark the third year of the full‑scale invasion. The gathering featured music, reflections on Ukraine before and during the war, cultural presentations, video segments, and Ukrainian food. While the event has passed, the goals behind it remain central: to remember, to inform, to celebrate Ukrainian culture, and to strengthen community connections.
Listeners wishing to learn more about the Canadian Alliance of Ukrainian Workers or to get involved may contact Olena by text at 778‑674‑8771.