For Elizabeth Andres of Saskatoon—she had been waiting for Wednesday since June.  That is when she was matched up with a young family in Ukraine who was looking to escape the war.

Elena and her seven-year-old son Zhenya arrived late Wednesday afternoon at the Saskatoon airport with 200 other people on a direct flight from Warsaw, Poland. Elena’s husband remains in Ukraine—fighting on the front line.

Andres and her husband do not speak Ukrainian, but she says Google Translate has been a big help.  Elizabeth Andres says Elena and Zhenya can stay as long as they want, with she and her husband. She says they have already been making inquiries into Bishop Filevich Ukrainian Bilingual School and Zhenya will be going to school there.  Mayor Charlie Clark says our city is well-equipped to provide a good education for the Ukrainian students although he does say that Bishop Filevich is already bursting at the seams but those are the kind of connections that are so important.

This was the first direct flight from Warsaw to the Saskatoon airport. Three previous humanitarian flights went to Regina.

Two “one-stop-shops” have been organized to assist newcomers have easier access to services such as banking, health cards and leads for employment. These will be taking place at the Travelodge Hotel Thursday and Friday.