Ukrainian evacuees on escaping war, new life in Canada with host family

Nicolette and Tom Kovesi held up a blue and yellow poster – the colours of the Ukrainian flag – with the words “Welcome to Canada.”

They were waiting for a plane filled with Ukrainian evacuees escaping the Russian invasion to touch down at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport.

The Kovesis said their parents fled Hungary many years ago and were welcomed by Canadians with open arms. They felt it was their duty to pay it forward.

“We’re so excited to have them and add a little bit of light to these dark times,” Tom Kovesi told CityNews on May 29.

On that charter flight from Warsaw, Poland, were Anastasiia Varchenko and Svitlana Ivanysko. The two young Ukrainian women were moments away from meeting the host family that would change their lives forever.

Montrealers Nicolette and Tom Kovesi are impatiently waiting for Tania, a Ukrainian evacuee landing in Montreal on May 29, 2022. (Credit: CityNews/Brittany Henriques)

Seven months later, Varchenko and Ivanysko are reflecting on life with the Kovesis and being in Canada.

“They showed us how people can be so kind and help the people,” said Ivanysko. “And it inspired me to do the same and to be better. “I don’t know how to say thank you because it’s more than just words.”

“We are really grateful to Nicolette and Tom and for Canadians,” added Varchenko. “It’s a really cool country. It’s like another planet. Everyone’s so kind, so friendly. We’re like a family.”

The Kovesis shared that feeling of being a family.

“We’ve extended our family,” said Nicolette. “I think we will have permanent connections, whether you guys stay here or whether you move back to Ukraine. I will now have family in Ukraine, in Kiev… and I think you guys will feel the same.”

“I’m glad we’ve been helping them, but they’ve benefited our lives so much,” said Tom. “They introduced us to experiences that we’ve never had otherwise.”

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Varchenko and Ivanysko fled Ukraine with their friend Tatiana, who was initially meant to stay with the Kovesis as well. Tatiana ended up staying with friends of the Kovesis who were inspired by them to host Ukrainian evacuees.

Varchenko, 23, and Ivanysko, 24, are lawyers in their home country and are working multiple jobs in Canada to help provide for family in Ukraine.

Despite feeling relieved for their personal safety and the joy of a newfound family in Canada, the war in their home country is always on their hearts and minds.

“I left my country, came to Canada, and I was really stressed,” said Varchenko. “But when we came, I felt relieved because now we are here. Here is so serene. But still, we are really worried about our parents, about our partners, about our friends.”

“Of course my family in Ukraine, I call them,” said Ivanysko. “I worry about them and it was really difficult and heartbreaking to leave them there and all of my life. But at the same time, I’m so happy to be in this family and to receive all the warmth and love from them.”

Russia invaded Ukraine in February

For Nicolette, hosting Varchenko and Ivanysko has been a lesson in perspective, and a constant reminder the situation in Ukraine is ongoing – and has been since February.

“When living with these girls, we realize the privileges of what we take for granted, like heating, electricity, food, water,” she said. “So when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is I check the news and what’s happening in Ukraine and how do we support them.

“We can really laugh. We can really have a good time. We really enjoy looking at the decorations in the suburbs, you know, looking at the lights. And then five minutes later, you feel very sad again and worrying.”

As much as Nicolette loves having Varchenko and Ivanysko around, she knows they’re here because their home country remains extremely unsafe.

“Part of me really hopes that they’re not going to be here next year because it means that there will be peace in Ukraine,” she said.

And with their minds still on their family and friends back home, Varchenko and Ivanysko are nevertheless looing forward to celebrating their first Canadian Christmas.

“We already bought our gifts. We already know about typical Canadian gifts like socks and cards,” said Varchenko with a laugh.