Twin sisters who fled Ukraine adapt to school and life in Halifax

Nearly 90,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled the war-torn country for Canada so far this year, including Mariia and Yuliia Lytvynchuk.

The 18-year-old twins are pursuing post-secondary education at Dalhousie University and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design for visual arts and creative writing.

“We left our city and our home where we lived all our life,” Yuliia said.

Dalhousie professor Heather Jessup is one of more than 100 strangers who helped bring the two sisters and their single mother to Canada.

While both students received scholarships to their post-secondary institutions, the money only goes so far — they are not eligible for student loans.

"Living here is expensive,” Jessup explained. “We need a home for these wonderful young women, food and school supplies which are necessities for them.”

A donor has agreed to match every dollar raised up to $40,000 until December through a GoFundMe campaign.

For now, the sisters preserve their past life through their paintings and words.

They say they’re optimistic there are opportunities in Canada, even if their future feels uncertain.

“We planned one moment, one second in Ukraine and all our plans were ruined,” Mariia said. “So now, it’s very hard to plan something.”

“When I was a child, I planned to be a great designer in the Ukraine. But now, I need to make another plan for my future,” Yuliia explained. “I’m really hopeful and feel here I’ll have a great future.”

Despite hearing about the cold winters in the Maritimes, they say they’ve felt nothing but warmth since arriving in Halifax earlier this year.

“[Those who helped us] are no longer strangers, they are our family,” Yuliia said.

They’ve also discovered and experienced some Canadian quirks.

“I think Canadians can’t live without Tim Hortons,” Yuliia said with a laugh.

Above all, the twins are grateful to have each other for the journey that lies ahead.