Lyonel Doherty, Times Chronicle

It’s a love story that no war can deny.

While their dream of buying a home and raising a family in Ukraine is shattered, childhood sweethearts Dima Tuitkalo and Kateryna Brylova are starting over in Oliver.

The young couple hosted by Shirley Zelinski are getting closer to that dream as they continue to work hard and save their pennies.

“We want to make permanent residence,” Dima said, acknowledging how expensive homes are in Canada compared to the Ukraine where you can purchase a three-bedroom home for $15,000 Canadian.

Sadly, many homes and apartments in Sloviansk where they are from have been flattened by Russian bombs. Dima witnessed the shelling practically 100 metres away.

He recalled the day when the soldiers came to take people from their homes to work in factories and other labour-intensive jobs during the war.

Kateryna’s family lost everything when bombs hit their cabin where all of their personal belongings were stored.

“No school, no university, everything was bombed,” Kateryna said.

Both Dima and Kateryna are university educated; she obtained her masters in engineering because of her passion for physics.  

Dima worked in a smelting factory making $182 a month. 

Zelinski said the only way many people survive in Ukraine is if they have a garden to grow their own food since groceries are expensive, especially meat.

Dima and Kateryna were working in the Czech Republic when they heard about a program that matched people with host families in Canada. Zelinski had applied to take in a family and the match was successful.

She explained to the couple that in Canada you can go outside and stand in the middle of the street and say that you don’t like the government and nothing will happen.

You can’t do that in Russia, Dima said.

The first thing the couple did when they arrived in BC last summer was marvel at the mountains and how friendly people were.

Zelinski said Greyback Construction hired Dima in the first week and gave him two raises, followed by a carpentry apprenticeship. He has experience operating forklifts, excavators, and cranes, which makes him a valuable asset, she pointed out.

Kateryna has two jobs working in housekeeping; one is at South Okanagan General Hospital. Her goal is to find a job in engineering once her English improves.

Both Dima and Kateryna volunteer for Oliver Crime Watch. Zelinski said they are doing a good job watching out for suspicious behaviour during patrols. She noted that both of their fathers were police officers in the Ukraine. 

She described the young couple as “street smart.” 

“This country is their oyster. They want to work, that’s all they want to do,” Zelinski said, noting she has to force the couple to take time off and enjoy the beach for an hour in the summer.

“I’m convincing them that they don’t have to work like that to survive. But that’s how the Ukrainians are keeping the Russians back, primarily by their survival instinct.”

When asked what they thought about the Canadian government being efficient, Dima shook his head, prompting much laughter from Zelinski. 

He noted that the government moves very slowly here compared to Ukraine where it only takes a couple of days to obtain documents.

Kateryna said getting dental work done on your teeth is very expensive here.

Zelinski said Ukrainians are very handy at fixing things that break.

“They learn how to fix cell phone screens, they learn how to wire things, they learn how to do marvelous sewing, they have talents that they don’t know are marketable.”

Since settling here, the couple has saved enough money to buy a car. But Kateryna was upset when she accidentally ran over a big snake on White Lake Road in September. She has also seen many spiders including black widows that give her the willies.

When asked if they had anything else to say, Kateryna quickly typed something on her cell phone: “We realize that we need to appreciate the moments right now and not put off everything for tomorrow because we don’t know what awaits us in the future.”