Photo of Michael Garnett and Rebecca Rider in Ukraine. Courtesy of Rebecca Rider.
Michael Garnett and Rebecca Rider are a Calgary couple who started Help from Canada, a charity to help struggling Ukrainians during the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Help from Canada is raising money for Ukraine to provide Ukrainians with basic necessities. They are accepting financial donations via their website. They also accept limited donations of non-perishable items.
Garnett and Rider had already raised over $10,000 for Ukraine but they decided they needed to become more involved. On a whim, they travelled to Ukraine with these funds. They didn’t tell anyone they were going.
While in Ukraine, the couple used these donations to rent a vehicle and buy supplies for Ukrainians who were forced to leave their homes but remained trapped within the country’s borders. People who suffer in conditions such as this are known as internally displaced.
Their Trip to Ukraine
Garnett and Rider stayed in the country for a week. Rider says it was frightening being in a country at war:
“The first day we were there, the air raid sirens went off…the first time we heard those air raid sirens, we were in a park and your heart rate goes through the roof,” She says. “Everything slows down. I remember seeing some other people and making eye contact and you just recognize there’s nowhere to go if there is a missile strike, there’s nowhere to seek refuge. And it was terrifying, eye opening but it also it causes you to see the desperation where these people live under that every single day”
Back in Canada, the husband-and-wife duo continued to aid Ukrainians in any way they could. Rider, a pilot for a Canadian airline, decided to use her staff-donated passes to bring Ukrainian refugees into Canada. Help from Canada flew in 200 refugees through this program. Unfortunately, the airline decided to shut the initiative down since it was against their policies. Rider and Garnett have since then flown in 56 refugees, finding alternatives to bring refugees into the country.
Help from Canada started because of co-founder Michael Garnett’s personal connection to both Russia and Ukraine.
“My family’s Ukrainian. They moved to Canada in 1900 … we had a strong heritage, food, culture growing up. I was a professional hockey player and played … ten years over in the Russian League. So I learned Russian, I speak Russian. I very much identify with that part of the world. When the war started in on February 24th, I remember … I was in disbelief and shocked. And it was very painful to see the country that I love, that I lived in, invading the country of … my ancestry and my people” Garnett says.
Garnett and Rider’s charity Help from Canada continues to evolve with the ever-changing war between Russia and Ukraine. The couple remains determined, constantly considering the next step for their organization and how it can help Ukrainians in need.
“Every step of the way has always been what’s next? How do we impact more people? How do we help more people? And it’s been incredible to see just the momentum, the connections you make,” Rider says.
Other ways you can help Ukrainian refugees in Calgary:
- Donate clothes, household items, or furniture via Women for Women
- Help teach an English as a second language class
- Make a financial donation for Ukrainian women’s rehabilitation and medical care
- Donate to the keep the media alive in Ukraine, further preventing Russian misinformation
- Keep up to date with how the war is affecting citizens and the economy
- Share these resources with your friends, family, and social media
This next video features an original poem and photos courtesy of Depositphotos from the war in Ukraine.
A Reflection on Bravery
Author’s Reflection:
It was an invaluable experience to be able to speak with Michael and Rebecca about the work that they are doing to help people in Ukraine. I believe that in creating and sharing this project, I will both raise awareness about a current issue, and highlight how people in our own community are making a difference, which will hopefully encourage other people to step forward and make a change, too.
Though we empathize with the people experiencing difficulties halfway across the world, it is easy to feel helpless, like we can’t be of value or be a part of the change.
Hopefully my project will give people hope that they can make a difference from wherever they are.
I learned from Michael and Rebecca that community has a broad definition: we belong to a worldwide community, where love and relief know no borders.
My video will also hopefully be a useful tool that Michael and Rebecca can utilize by sharing it themselves; they can post it to their website, for example, in order to effectively demonstrate who they are and what they do.
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