'Giving them childhood back': Charity offers displaced Ukrainian youth fun and friends

After escaping war, displaced Ukrainian youth living in Edmonton got an opportunity to spend time as teenagers again.

On Friday, the non-profit Canadian Society of Ukrainians from the Former Yugoslavia organized a free fun day at Snow Valley for 70 Ukrainian youth between the ages of 13 and 18 that are now living in city.

The teens got a chance to pan for gold, visit the Snow Valley Aerial Park, and try their hand at golf.

"It's just a fun day for kids to relax and know that we're here for them, and it gives them an opportunity to get to know each other and become friends," said Irena Struk, project manager for the non-profit.

"They have gone through a lot, and we have some stories in this group that are amazing," Struk added. "They need to just be kids. They need to have their childhood."

Maksym Fedyna, 18, told CTV News Edmonton how his parents and brother are still in Ukraine. They sent him to live with a host family in the city to avoid military service.

"The reason why I leave Ukraine is because there was a missile attack near my house," Fedyna recalled. "But I never wanted to leave Ukraine."

He talks with his mom every day.

"She's happy that I'm here," Fedyna said. "But also, she misses me. But I guess I will see her soon, maybe."

"I don't miss Ukraine, the place," he added. "I miss the people in Ukraine, the places in Ukraine. My city."

Sixteen-year-old Maksym Borobskyi got to try golf for the first time.

"It's exciting," he said. "I'm thankful for the people who are doing this because it's a lot of work, and for us, it's fun.

"I don't have a lot of friends here because I'm new to Canada, and I can find some people to just talk to here. I made a lot of friends while we're doing this program."

Struk is also volunteering to help the young newcomers settle into the city. She knows firsthand how hard it can be to leave everything you know behind. When she was 16, she left then Yugoslavia.

"I remember the grenades, hiding in the basement, living with no electricity or water and things like that," Struk said.

"But nothing was scarier than coming here and going to school."

That's why she and the society are helping the new youth with fun day events, a buddy program for the upcoming school year, and programs providing them with computers and homework assistance.

"Many of those kids do not have opportunities," Struk said. "Parents, as soon as they come, they hardly get any support, so they have to go and work."

"We're giving them childhood back," she added. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Steven Dyer