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Community

‘I couldn’t just sit back and watch’

By Mark Brett, Penticton Herald, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

When she began helping Ukrainians escape their war-torn country, Jennifer Martison realized getting people out was only half the battle.

“The Ukrainians face huge challenges when they arrive here (in Canada), the government bureaucracy and requisite paperwork is daunting,” said Martison, who started the Ukraine Nightingale Project (UNP) last fall to help refugees of the war.

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Community

The journey from Ukraine to Canada and a new life

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to the first of a five-part series highlighting the work of the Ukraine Nightingale Project and some of the families it’s helping in the South Okanagan. To help fund that work, the UNP is staging performances by the Tryzub Ukraine dance troupe Thursday in Oliver and Saturday in Penticton.

By Mark Brett, Penticton Herald, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Until last year, Oleg Varnystka had never held a gun but he now carries an AK-47 and risks his life on the front lines to defend his Ukrainian homeland.

Fortunately six months ago his wife Vitalina Varnytska and their children, daughter Vlada, 17, and son Ustym, 15, managed to escape their war-torn country.

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Sports

Local karate instructor offers self defense classes, donates proceeds

By Louis Belcourt, CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

A local karate and kinesiology specialist has been hosting a weekly self-defense class on Cortes Island and donating the proceeds back to the community.

Kaitlin Garratt runs “Fierce and Fluid,” which she describes as an “empowered self defense class,” blending cardio kickboxing, karate, and “foundational energy principles to help you embody your core power and learn to deliver it with grace to the world.”

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Jobs

Temporary Foreign Workers Hit Record Levels in BC

By  Zak Vescera, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

B.C. businesses are hiring a record number of temporary foreign workers as they struggle to fill jobs. 

The latest federal data show there were  more than 32,200 people in B.C. under the federal government’s Temporary  Foreign Worker Program at the end of 2022, more than Ontario, which has  more than twice B.C.’s population. 

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Indigenous Nations

Cultural significance of First Nation’s traditional crafts

By Manavpreet Singh, Energetic City, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

FORT ST.JOHN, B.C. – Local First Nations members believe traditional art and crafts signify the strength of Indigenous cultural identity.

According to Sandra Apsassin, the Elders coordinator for Blueberry River First Nation, sewing and beaded designs are art forms that define and shape her personality.

Apsassin believes traditional crafts have an influential role in preserving Indigenous communities’ cultural history. 

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