Two fundraising events are being held in British Columbia to raise money for Ukraine.
One is a concert and the other is an evening of activities. Both are hosted by the Maple Hope Foundation, one on Saturday in Victoria and the other on Sunday in Vancouver.
The Maple Hope Foundation was established in 2014 by Svitlana Kominko in response to Russian aggression in Crimea.
“Ten years later, the needs are even greater,” she said.
“What Putin has done in two years is unimaginable… the entire (Ukrainian) population is traumatized.”
Saturday’s concert will take place at the Ukrainian Cultural Center on Douglas Street in Victoria, starting at 5 p.m.
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On Sunday, the foundation’s Decade of Hope event will take place at the Vancouver Club on West Hastings Street.
The Decade of Hope event will include dinner, entertainment, a live auction and live music.
One of the speakers at the Vancouver event is Ukrainian Oksana Gurska.
She said her husband had been taken prisoner and was now a prisoner of war in Russia. She said he defended the city of Mariupol for 86 days before being captured.
Gurska wrote a book of stories and poetry The steel peoplewhich can be purchased via the Maple Hope Foundation.
“All the money raised from this book will be used to support Ukrainian children, prisoners of war and their rehabilitation,” she told Global News through a translator.
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