Kamloops Immigrant Services preparing to welcome ‘two to three’ Ukrainian refugee families this year
KAMLOOPS — Kamloops Immigrant Services (KIS) is preparing to welcome two to three Ukrainian refugee families this year, and potentially two-to-three more in 2023.
As the Ukrainian refugee count climbs to 2.8 million amidst Russia’s invasion of the country, according to the United Nations, the non-profit settlement agency in Kamloops continues to receive updates from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on a near daily basis.
France Lamontajne, executive director of KIS, says they’ve started to internally educate themselves with the Ukrainian culture, their history and the different aspects of their crisis. She says they’re updating Ukrainian families already living in Kamloops who want to know how they can assist their family members or friends who want to come to Canada.
“We’ve compiled a list of community members who are almost calling daily to offer their help in various ways,” Lamontajne says. “We’ve categorized it with people wanting to provide short-term housing, other people call to say they have work and employment opportunities and lots of volunteers who speak Ukrainian who want to be a part of our database.”
