My family and I arrived in Canada through the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) program. We were escaping from the war that Russia started against Ukraine. 

At the Ukrainian Reception Centre at the Best Western Hotel, there was a room with beautiful people from the Immigrant Centre. They told us how we can get support at the Centre, and gave us some useful information about living and adapting to life in Canada. The people working at the Immigrant Centre were also immigrants and they knew how we felt being in a new country.

I needed translation verification and in the evening before going to the Immigrant Centre, I was viewing some information on the website and saw this about the Language Bank volunteers: “Language Bank Services would not be able to do this work without our more than 400 interpreters and/or translators, many of whom are new Canadians themselves.” And I thought maybe I can help. That is how I decided to volunteer.

It is so nice to be at the Immigrant Centre in such a friendly atmosphere. Now a lot of Ukrainians need translation verification, so much more work needs to be done by the Immigrant Centre staff; however, even at the end of a hard work day they are still positive and friendly. This is what inspires me to find time for volunteering and that is at least what I and other Ukrainian volunteers can do to say thank you.