Help us keep Ukrainians Hanna & Sofia in Canada

Hi, my name is Jane and I represent a group of friends who are fundraising for Hanna Hubanova and her daughter Sofia who came to Canada in June 2022 to escape the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Hanna and Sofia's journey here was long, fraught and frightening. They had to leave behind Slava, Hanna's husband, who has remained to fight with the Ukrainian army, and his parents.

My sister, Kirsty, hosted Hanna and Sofia for 3 months in her home in North Vancouver over the summer of 2022 when they first arrived. She and I, along with our friend Jan, have helped Hanna and Sofia find a subsidized apartment and an anonymous generous donor paid for their first year's rent. We called on friends, family and colleagues for furniture and other housing essentials and they came through, providing all that was needed within 48 hours - overwhelming us with their generosity!

Hanna has secured a job, and Sofia is now attending high school in North Vancouver, which she loves - and she recently won a "star" student award. Hanna has a degree in Pharmacy and experience in quality control in a pharmaceutical manufacturing environment, but her command of English is not yet sufficient to secure higher-paying employment so she's working in minimum-wage positions. As we all know, this doesn't provide enough to live on in North Vancouver.

Hanna's current lease expires in July and the building is slated to be demolished - so their housing situation is not yet secure. As a single mother, Hanna cannot afford market rent for even a small one-bedroom apartment. She works diligently at improving her English, but realistically she will need a while and Canadian certification in Pharmacology before she'd be able to get a position with enough income to live in North Vancouver.

Our group's dream is to raise enough money to support Hanna and Sofia's monthly rent, certification training and other critical living expenses until they can get on their feet. Other than the initial $3,000 grant, they receive no other funds from the government, unlike refugees or those on welfare. While their special visa allows them to stay another two years, Hanna and Sofia are working and studying hard to stay in Canada permanently and bring Slava here after the war is over.

The funds we raise will be used to subsidize their rent, education and other key expenses over the remaining period of their visa at which time we believe they will have a solid foundation to establish their new lives in Canada without outside support. Funds collected will be transferred into my bank account and distributed only with approval from the full group for these priority items. The fundraising group will provide full transparency to all donors as to how the money is spent, via regular updates on this GoFundMe page.

Please, support our Ukrainian family and help make their Canadian dreams come true.