'I feel loved in this house': Ukrainians and Torbay resident find second family in one another

For Shirley Thorne of Torbay, N.L., the idea of taking in Ukrainian refugees started at the hair salon.

"An acquaintance was sitting next to me and we talked, and she said, 'I have two Ukrainians living with me,'" Thorne explained. "And I said, 'Well, that's a great thing for me to do as well.'"

Thorne quickly reached out to the Association for New Canadians, which helps newcomers settle in the province.

"They said, 'How many [Ukrainians] would you like?' and I said, 'I don't care, it's only me in the house,'" she laughed. Thorne said her children and grandchildren are mainly grown up these days, and as someone who was raised among a family of 11, Thorne likes having company.

"The more people in here, the better," she said.

So at the end of July, Thorne began hosting three generations of a Ukrainian family at her home in Torbay.

There's Yuliia Fedonenko, a web designer and mother, who Thorne said is "just like my daughter." Then there's Fedonenko's children, five-year-old Misha and three-year-old Alina.

"What's better than two little children running around?" said Thorne. "I'm going to get so excited for Christmas."

Thorne has also bonded with Yuliia's mother, Halina Revina, saying she's now her best friend.

"Every day we talk over the breakfast table and we translate with our phones," explained Thorne. "She's so full of life and so funny." 

The two grandmothers garden together, and even cook together — though Thorne said she's occasionally intimidated by Revina's kitchen prowess. One night, during her early days in Thorne's house, Revina made an elaborate three-course meal for the family. Thorne had already prepared fish and brewis, but after tasting Revina's cooking, Thorne stashed her Newfoundland meal in the freezer. 

"I gave it to one of my neighbours," she said with a smile. "But anyway … they love salt meat."

At Thorne's home in Torbay, Fedonenko nods, confirming it.

"I never before tasted [salt meat]," she said. "It's amazing. It's very good food."

'One step, one step, one step'

The Fedonenko family is originally from Dnipro, a city of about a million people in south-central Ukraine. 

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Fedonenko said, air raid alerts soon began to sound in her city, signalling the possibility of missile strikes. So on the 14th day of the war, Fedonenko said she left home with just her children and a small backpack, and headed for Western Ukraine.

"But in West Ukraine, bombs too," she said.

So Fedonenko and her family continued west, seeking refuge in Poland for a couple of months, before coming to Newfoundland and Labrador through the province's Ukrainian Help Desk. But Fedonenko's husband remained in Ukraine to fight for the army, and it's now been eight months since they've seen each other.

"It's very difficult for me," said Fedonenko, who has been able to speak with her husband maybe once a week.

In Ukraine, Fedonenko accumulated a wealth of experience as a web designer and developer. But Fedonenko only started learning English after arriving in Canada — so at the moment, her weekdays are split between studying at the Association for New Canadians' ESL Training Centre for five hours a day, working part time at a nearby café, and spending time with her family.

"I'm always all day busy," she said. "It's not my life in Ukraine, but … I have two children. I need work. I need [to] learn. I know I need a little time. One step, one step, one step," Fedonenko said. She's hoping her husband will join the family in Torbay soon. And, as Thorne explained, this is a hope shared by five-year-old Misha, too.

"For his birthday, he wants some sheep and to go on the river with his dad," said Thorne. "He wants his dad to come for his birthday."

It's a time of great change and upheaval for the family — and Fedonenko often worries about her husband's safety. But in the meantime, she's very grateful for the home she's found with Thorne in Torbay. 

"I feel loved in this house," said Fedonenko. "Shirley's very, very friendly, she always smiles.… It's amazing people."

Housing search for newcomers is ongoing, says ANC

In June, the provincial government called on homeowners to "consider offering affordable homestays and housing to Ukrainian newcomers." According to a spokesperson from the Association for New Canadians, 32 households are currently hosting the organization's Ukrainian clients, though other arrangements have likely been made independently. 

The spokesperson also said about 475 newcomers are currently staying in temporary accommodations provided by the organization. The association is "always looking for housing for arrivals," whether that includes rental housing or free/affordable homestays, and the spokesperson said the call for housing isn't limited to Ukrainian refugees.

Thorne said she highly recommends hosting.

"You know anybody who's in a house and they have a place, they have a few bedrooms and they are not too uptight. I really encourage people to bite the bullet and just go for it," Thorne said. "You'll have a ball."

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