The Ukrainian refugees in Perth finally had something to smile about when they attended the Ukraine Christmas Party on January 15th, which was hosted by the Rotary Osborne Park and Karrinyup Clubs. The party was attended by about 110 Ukrainians, including 20 children, and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The party was a follow up to one that we hosted on September 28, and the feedback that we received from that event.
We were assisted us in running the event by Olivia, who has lived here for some time and acted as our interpreter, and Pogrebnyak Sergey, who used to MC at weddings in Ukraine, who acted as our MC for the day. Alla Crowley who managed the invitations
A typical Aussie sausage sizzle provided the bulk of the food, with the BBQ being manned by Eddie Giacomel of the Karrinyup Club and Mark, a member of the Ukraine Association. A variety of other food was also served together with cake and ice cream for dessert. The guests made good use of the bar, ably managed by Ray Findley, with the kids demolishing our stock of soft drinks.
During the event, a dance was performed by Ann Belek, who was beautifully dressed in a traditional outfit.
A team of people urged on by Dawn Brodie, collected and wrapped a large number of presents which were given to the kids on the day by a cute Christmas Elf, Karyna Platonova.
As per the previous event, Father Igor Holovko, the parish priest of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St John the Baptist in Maylands, led the group in singing a number of Ukrainian songs.
Further support of the refugees has been provided by the Karrinyup Club through a program of Back to School grants, funded initially by the Rotary Club of Karrinyup Youth Service team and then by the RAWCS/RABS Project to assist displaced persons in Western Australia. To date, almost fifty grants have been approved to assist Ukrainian children start school in Western Australia in 2023. The Club has also supported a camp at Rottnest Island for young people, children and adults in 2022, and continues to offer personal growth and training opportunities through their Youth program to Ukrainian displaced young people.
Both Clubs will continue to support the Ukrainian refugees in any way we can.