A special Thanksgiving dinner was held Friday afternoon, Sept. 30, for Ukrainian refugees and their host families living in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.

About 53 adults and 37 children who fled their homes in Ukraine attended the traditional turkey dinner, along with 10 members of local host families, that was put on by the Ridge Meadows Ukrainian Welcoming Committee in collaboration with Golden Ears United Church.

Mariia Elsayed and her family arrived in Canada six months ago 鈥� five of which they have been living in Maple Ridge.

She said the Thanksgiving dinner was amazing and it was nice that they didn鈥檛 feel alone at this time of year.

鈥淲e feel like the big family sitting at one table and it鈥檚 amazing. The food was really great. It鈥檚 the first time that I tried a dinner like that,鈥� she said about the meal that included turkey, mashed potatoes, carrots, stuffing, gravy, topped with a dollop of cranberry sauce.

鈥淎nd also I like the blueberry pie,鈥� Elsayed smiled. 鈥淏ecause I love pies.鈥�

Elsayed and her family fled from a city in central Ukraine called Vinnytsia, deciding to flee before the war began because she felt the situation was getting more and more dangerous in the country.

鈥淚t was really difficult. My husband he was in Poland all this time so I took the kids and I came to Poland,鈥� she said, arriving there Dec. 31, 2021, a couple of months before Russia invaded her homeland on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.

When the war started, Elsayed said, she was already settled enough to help others fleeing her country, including her parents, close friends and their children. She was able to collect clothes and food for those who needed it and she had volunteers from the town she was living in, Gdansk, drive to the border to pick up women from the border who had nowhere to go. The women would be temporarily housed at one of her friend鈥檚 homes until she could find them a host family.

However, Elsayed and her husband were still worried that Russia would also invade Poland and started to look for a safe place to live with their two sons who are 12 and three.

鈥淲e choose Canada because it鈥檚 really quiet and safe place and a lot of nice people here,鈥� she said. They also needed a country where people spoke English.

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鈥淎nd it was the dream of my husband to come to Canada,鈥� she said.

They left behind a successful butchering business and ecommerce business and arrived in Canada through a federal program that helps Ukrainians fleeing war 鈥� on April 11.

The family had no connections to the country, aside from the ex-wife of an uncle that lived in Toronto.

But people here made them feel welcome and at home.

They found a host family in Burnaby through an online group called Ukrainians Take Shelter who hosted them for one month. And who helped them tremendously, said Elsayed.

Her family is planning to stay in Canada and build a new life, starting from zero.

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鈥淚t鈥檚 painful. For the first couple of months I was crying everyday. I was wanting to come back home. Just understanding that I have no home. I can鈥檛 go back there and my parents home, sometime,s I have the flashbacks and it鈥檚 really hard,鈥� she said.

The city she once lived in has since been bombed three times by Russia. Two of her friends have died.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really painful that we鈥檒l never have a life like we had before. Our whole world is destroyed,鈥� she said.

Before the dinner, between 3-4 p.m., donations of new and used clothing were distributed to guests, along with household items donated by local manufacturers. Dinner was served at 5 p.m. with a warm welcome delivered by Mary Robson on behalf of the welcoming committee, expressing appreciation that everyone could come together to share the occasion with new friends.

Major Dave MacPherson, executive director of the Maple Ridge Salvation Army said Grace.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really great, the atmosphere and the people around, it鈥檚 really amazing what they do,鈥� said Elsayed of the Ukrainian welcoming committee.