Sending hope and supplies home to Ukraine on International Women’s Day

It seems more than fitting to put the spotlight on a Ukrainian woman who spearheaded a local drive to support her native country on International Women's Day.

Olena Beshley and her team of volunteers at Holy Spirit Ukrainian Church were overwhelmed with support over the weekend with items being packed up to ship to refugees in Poland. Beshley arrived in Canada 15 years ago and was immediately determined to help when the Russian invasion began.

When she last spoke to her grandparents in Ukraine, she encouraged them to flee to Poland, but they told her: We were born during a war and we will die in a war, but we will die in an independent Ukraine."

If you would like to help Beshley's drive, you can through a GoFundMe account on the church's website.

Cathie Coward is a Hamilton-based photojournalist at The Spectator. Reach her via email: ccoward@thespec.com