Kindness part of a universal language

Posted on Wednesday, June 29th, 2022

“Pryvit i laskavo prosymo do Algonquin College” (hello and welcome to Algonquin College) may be a phrase you overhear if you are walking near the Spiritual Centre on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons. On those days, a group of over 120 recently arrived Ukrainians meet to learn English, with the help of a group of current and retired faculty and volunteers.

“We started with 20 people and it turned into hundreds of families calling me and writing asking for help,” said Yuriy Derkach, a professor of mechanical engineering and chaplain at the campus Spiritual Centre. Derkach also works for Student Support Services (SSS) and has been working with Ukrainian students and their families. He said that after arriving in Canada, the first request from refugees was to learn how to speak English.

“They asked ‘can you help with conversation?’” said Derkach. “So, I emailed retired and current professors to see if anyone was willing to help out. Many responded and I was quite overwhelmed by the kindness of people. We started one group and now have eight to 10 groups with over 120 participants. One act of kindness grows into something big. So many kind people are joining us.”

Derkach has been inspired by the experience. “The Spiritual Centre is a place of healing and as chaplain my hope is they (the Ukrainian refugees) can come and heal. They have PTSD and they can come and see others who care for them. It became amazing to see. I can see it is bearing fruit and see how much people appreciate it.”

He said young people have already formed an attachment to the College. “We have around 30 high school students who say they love Algonquin College. They haven’t seen anything like it and they want to study (here) in the fall. They can find a meaning and a purpose. They go to our volunteer program to see they have a sense of belonging.”

Besides providing English classes, Derkach and a group of volunteers have set up workshops providing career and academic counselling. “There are professionals, doctors and lawyers who want to take our programs. Ukrainians are hard working and they want to be part of the community and want to contribute. We need to give them the tools and opportunities so they can contribute and be part of society.”

The courses began at the start of the spring semester and will run until mid-August. Sessions run two hours a day, twice a week. Besides Derkach and his volunteers, the AC Hub, SSS, Algonquin Students’ Association and International Students Centre are assisting with these efforts.


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