Ukrainian refugee family reunited in Edmonton 

Just in time for the holidays — a father from Ukraine is being reunited with his family in Edmonton — but this isn’t the first time the man has had to flee.

“We never planned to leave Ukraine because of the war. Things started at like 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. in the morning. There was bombs everywhere. She got scared. Everywhere was shut down,” explained Andrew Obesuyi, who fled to Canada from Ukraine.

Obesuyi first left Nigeria for Ukraine in 1996, in his 25 years there, starting a new life, eventually meeting his partner Hanna and starting a family. However they and their young children were forced to flee to Germany in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

My children, I could die any minute, because you don’t where the bomb falls, maybe tomorrow it could be me. We hear how many people die, how many children die ’til this day, children die,” said Hanna Filippova, a Ukrainian refugee.

The family spent two years in Germany before Obesuyi was able to get a visa to Canada. But he says he wasn’t eligible for support when he arrived in Edmonton this fall. 

“I asked ‘Why? you are supposed to give me the first step. She said, ‘No.’ Some other Ukrainians were standing there so they took them but they left me, I said ‘Why?’ She said, I have to come with my family,” explained Obesuyi.

With nowhere to go, he was eventually connected to support with Hope Mission. Working with Homeward Trust, they were able to set the family up in an affordable townhouse complex. Reuniting Obesuyi with Filippova and their children back in October.

“They told me what to do. I went to the food bank, I got some training certificates to add to my resume, I got my resume, search for jobs.”

While the family is happy to be reunited, they say their struggles aren’t over. Both say it’s been difficult to find work since arriving in Canada. Filippova says because she arrived in 2024, her family missed the cutoff for supports for Ukrainian refugees. 

“I have a work permit. Three years. I’m not using my work permit because I don’t get job. I don’t have a chance to get a license, because the jobs need a certificate or license. It’s like around and around and it’s closed for me, and I want to find the exit. Two years I wait, I don’t want to wait any minutes, I want to do now,” she explained.