A Petrolia couple is opening their home to Ukrainian refugees, who have fled the country since Russia's invasion, and is encouraging others to consider doing the same.
Carla Rankin and her husband are part of The Aftermath Network, described as a "proactive HUB for relationship building with our Ukrainian friends."
She said she has a soft spot for Ukraine after her daughter and some people from her church went there on a mission.
"My daughter was quite touched at the people there, how lovely they are, and she talked about that and brought a lot of pictures back," said Rankin. "When we saw the war in Ukraine, we were in contact with the lady that was their interpreter there. We got to know the need of the people so we started praying for them and thinking about how we could help."
Rankin isn't sure how many refugees they will be housing, and said it could be a family or just children who need help.
She expects them to arrive in about three weeks.
Rankin said those taking in refugees will be doing more than just providing them with a home.
"You're going to be helping them learn English, if they don't speak English, and you're going to be their go-to person to introduce them to Canada," she said. "Canada is a wonderful country and you might be able to help them locate jobs or perhaps if they have some medical needs you could point them in the right direction."
Rankin called the situation in Ukraine "heartbreaking."
"I've seen some of the images of trains leaving mainly with women and children saying goodbye to their dads who obviously couldn't leave, they have to sign up for the militia there. It's heartbreaking to see, you can't just sit by and watch and do nothing."
For more information or to help out, visit the Aftermath Network of Canada on Facebook.
