News from the Ukrainian Refugee Committee – Sutton as of November 21, 2022
Please read below the latest news from the committee:
NEWS FROM UKRAINIAN FAMILIES!
Erdem and Tamara, the first family to arrive in Sutton, are doing very well. Both have full-time jobs, Erdem as a house painter and Tamara as an educator at a daycare center in Brome Lake where Marat, her two-year-old son, is being cared for. Arseny, who is thirteen years old, attends Massey-Vanier in secondary 2 and, since his arrival here, has been working on a farm where he has learned to drive a big tractor… something he is very proud of. The little family now lives in Cowansville, having been unable to find a place to live in Sutton, and they are very grateful to the community for helping them furnish their apartment.
Alex and Svetlana live in Sutton between the village and the mountain. They both have stable jobs. Svetlana has created her own business in housekeeping. Karolina, their daughter is in secondary 1 and will start babysitting very soon.
Kostiantyn and Oksana live in the mountain area, close to the ski slopes. Both of them also work. Oksana often works in Svetlana’s business. Their son Denys is in high school at Massey-Vanier and has just started a job at the IGA in Sutton.
Denys lives in the village and works in culinary preparation at Tartinizza. In his spare time, he studies French and English by himself.
Slowly, these families are integrating into our community. The francization classes, given by the Eastern Township School Board (ETSB), began in Sutton on Monday, November 7 and are held two evenings a week, Monday, and Wednesday, upstairs at the Town Hall. The group also includes a family of three Ukrainians who recently arrived in Shefford and a Mexican couple from Sutton. According to Hélène, their teacher who lives in Sutton, they are all very motivated.
Just recently, a retired Ukrainian couple arrived in Cowansville. Another Ukrainian trigenerational family of eleven people, including two teenagers, lives in Dunham. The latter started their francization course in Dunham on Monday, November 14, accompanied by some Turkish immigrants.
Last Monday, October 10th, on the occasion of Thanksgiving and in order to allow the families of Sutton and Dunham to socialize, Beverly, a citizen of Sutton organized a picnic at Mount Sutton where everyone could meet, exchange, take the chairlift – courtesy of Mount Sutton – and walk in the mountain.
In the same spirit and on the occasion of Christmas, the committee is organizing a Multicultural Christmas Dinner for newcomers who are in francization in Sutton and Dunham as well as their families, host families and teachers on December 17. The potluck formula will allow everyone to share traditional food and music and songs from their country of origin.
(Source: Ukrainiens Refugee Committee – Sutton)
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