The Story of a Grassroots Volunteer: Barbara

Barbara helps Ukrainian families who arrived in Canada after the start of the full-scale russian [1] war - because she can. Since childhood, she has known that the kindness of a stranger can sometimes be decisive. Her parents and older sister once started life in Canada from zero and managed to stand strong, in part thanks to the support of people they did not know. Now Barbara lives by a simple principle: if you can help - help. Do not try to “save,” but give tools, teach, advise, and be there. This kind of steady support changes lives.

Barbara was born in Canada to a family of British immigrants. Her parents knew what war meant - her mother survived the bombings in England during the Second World War, and her father served in India and Burma. They believed in peace and knew that freedom sometimes has to be defended. But they never wanted their children to experience anything like that. After the war, England was devastated, and jobs were scarce, so the young family decided to start a new life in another country.

From the beginning, life in Canada was not easy for them: their British diplomas were not automatically recognized, money was limited, and they had to requalify and work hard. Barbara grew up in a family without luxury, but with stability, food on the table, and daily work and responsibility. Her mother knew how to make “one dollar work like two,” saved money, looked for discounts, and planned expenses, while her father worked hard to give his daughters an education and better opportunities.

From childhood, Barbara learned a simple truth - the kindness of a stranger can be crucial in a difficult moment for someone in need, because it was strangers who helped her parents.

“My parents always stressed two things. First, that people you don’t know may help simply because they can and want to. It mattered a lot. For example, one woman saw my mother in a park and offered to look after my sister while my mom was searching for housing. Sometimes, acquaintances lent money so my parents could pay the rent on time,” Barbara recalls.

This became her first life lesson: small acts of support can change someone’s fate. Even then, without realizing it, she was learning what would later become the foundation of her volunteering.

Education that taught her to look for reasons

Barbara studied geography at the University of Toronto and later received a teaching qualification. She worked for some time in a computer company and even taught computer science to adults, but eventually returned to primary school education, where she spent eighteen years in special education. Her work was to help children who had difficulties with reading, writing, behaviour, or learning, to receive a full education.

Barbara worked with children from kindergarten to grade eight and is convinced that no child is “bad” without a reason. There is always a cause behind the difficulties children face in learning, communication, or behaviour - often sensory discomfort, fear, shame, misunderstanding of a task, or the need for attention. To achieve positive results in education, the first step is to understand the cause. Without understanding the cause, it is often impossible to help. If the barrier is found, it can either be removed or the child can be supported in overcoming it. Barbara says she truly celebrates small positive steps, because sometimes a huge achievement for a child is simply putting a dot where their name should be written.

“Children are not bad. There are barriers. There is fear. There is shame. There is fatigue. There is a need for attention. And when you find the answer to ‘why,’ you find the way forward,” says Barbara.

This experience of paying attention to human difficulties and searching for deeper causes later shaped her approach to newly arrived Ukrainians.

Meeting Ukraine

Back in the 1970s, Barbara first encountered the Ukrainian culture through National Geographic, where she read an article about Pysanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs) [2] . She tried to make her first pysanka because she was interested in the technique.

“I felt I wanted to try. I found a brush, pulled out some bristles, added wax, and made my first pysanka. It didn’t turn out very well, but it was a beginning,” she recalls.

Barbara learned about the full-scale Russian war against Ukraine from the news she follows regularly. She remembers the build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine’s borders and understands things were not looking good. When the invasion began, she felt disappointed that the international community had not been able to prevent the tragedy, because in her professional practice, she had learned that it is better to stop violence early than to deal with its consequences. At the same time, she was deeply impressed by the resilience of Ukrainians and by the fact that they did not give up despite the imbalance of forces.

“When the war started, I felt disappointed that the international community could not prevent it… Wars do not end in two weeks. History proves that. But I saw Ukrainians who did not give up. That is courage. You are all heroes,” she says.

Barbara believes that there are many forms of courage during war, and that ordinary Ukrainians do tremendous work every day - simply preserving life and the human spirit is an act of defiance.

Grassroots: the decision to help

Barbara does not believe she can “save” people, but she believes in giving tools that allow people to keep their dignity and independence. This approach led her to Grassroots. She read about the organization in a newspaper but did not join immediately, knowing that in crises there is often a wave of enthusiasm that fades quickly - a “flavour of the day.” She wanted to join when help would be needed for the long term.

Later, Barbara suggested to Grassroots that she create a basic English course for newly arrived Ukrainians - not academic, but practical, focused on everyday survival: how to greet people, explain what hurts, and understand simple instructions. The classes were held via Zoom, and Barbara developed materials combining images and words so that the meaning would be clear even without translation. After the courses ended, she gave all the materials to Grassroots for free so they could be used in the future.

Her help did not stop at language. When the founder of Grassroots spoke about housing difficulties for Ukrainians and problems renting without a credit history, Barbara and her husband renovated their rental home according to legal requirements, created five legal bedrooms, and offered them for temporary use by Ukrainians. For a year and a half, Ukrainian families lived there while they were getting back on their feet.

She also joined the Healing Art project for women from Ukraine, because she believes in the power of creativity, journaling, and handicrafts as ways to support the soul in difficult times.

Ukrainians

Barbara sees Ukrainians as hardworking and sincere people trying to survive in a foreign country. She understands their feelings of uncertainty and confusion, because her own parents once experienced something similar - living between two worlds, no longer in their homeland but not yet fully in a new country.

She knows that immigrants can face prejudice and remembers that her family was also discriminated against because they were “different.” That is why she wanted to be at least one Canadian who smiles, welcomes newcomers, and is someone they can talk to without fear or tension.

“I just wanted to be that Canadian you can talk to, who smiles and accepts you. I hope there are more like this, but someone has to take the first step to break the ice,” Barbara shares.

Barbara believes Ukrainian children have strong learning discipline, which, combined with the creativity of the Canadian education system, creates a powerful combination that can help them succeed in adult life.

She advises newly arrived Ukrainians to use their strengths, take opportunities even if the job is not ideal, take care of sleep and nutrition, not isolate themselves only within their own community, keep their culture alive, and find at least one small joy every day - winter sunshine, a cup of coffee, a good conversation, or a sports game. She believes the soul needs to be nourished, otherwise inner balance can be lost.

“Find something to celebrate from time to time, even something small… at least one good thing,” she advises.

Barbara does not seek to lead large committees or be in the spotlight. She describes herself as a person who notices a gap and thinks about whether she can fill it. That is what her volunteering is about - a steady presence beside those who are starting life again, just as her parents once did. Their family, newly arrived in Canada, once received help from understanding and kind people.

“Now it’s my turn to help,” says Barbara, “and I hope those I have helped will help someone when they are able.” For her, this is a natural continuation of the life principles her parents taught her in childhood - if you can help, help.

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[1] The author deliberately writes the word «russia» in the text with a lowercase letter. This country does not deserve a capital letter.

[2] Pysanka is a traditional Ukrainian Easter egg decorated using a wax-resist technique. Designs are “written” on the eggshell with melted wax and then dyed in layers to create detailed patterns and symbols. The tradition has existed for centuries and remains an important part of Ukrainian culture and identity, including within Ukrainian-Canadian communities. https://www.historymuseum.ca/teachers-zone/history-box/modern-canada/ukrainian-easter-egg?utm_source=chatgpt.com