A solemn Saturday evening vigil at the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Transfiguration brought together community members to honour the victims of the Holodomor and reflect on 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Among those gathered was Sergii Tokayuk and Myroslava Makarenko, a Ukrainian couple who fled to Canada early in the Ukraine-Russia war but whose hearts remain with their family still living in Ukraine.
“They still [are] there in Kyiv region – my parents and my grandmother…so I try to contact with them every day just to make sure that they doing okay,” explained Makarenko.
The couple, who now reside in Waterloo Region, said the vigil was an emotional reminder of their family’s history and their current struggles.
“The most important is just spreading awareness and getting a bit more close with the community itself so that they are aware of what Ukrainians are and that we live …