The following is an excerpt from an article in the Ottawa Business Journal Giving Guide 2022 that highlights the work of UCC-Ottawa and Maidan Market, which supports Ukrainian newcomers. They received a $20k grant from the Ottawa Community Foundation and also established the UCC-Ottawa Settlement Assistance Fund.
By Jeff Todd
Ilona Priadko arrived in Canada with a suitcase, her meagre savings and thoughts bouncing between panic, fear, anger and, finally, frustration. Priadko, 27, originally from Kyiv, knew that tensions were high when she left for a holiday in Dubai with her husband in February 2022. And then it actually happened. Priadko received a call from her mother that Russia had invaded eastern Ukraine.
It sent Priadko and her husband into a tailspin. Finally, after two months in Dubai, exhausting what savings they had, the young couple made the decision to fly to Canada and begin a new life. They landed in Montreal and drove to Ottawa, hoping for a fresh start. Overwhelmed, Priadko joined a Facebook group for Ukrainians. It was then that someone told her about a place called The Maidan Market at the Westgate Mall.