By Mark Brett, Penticton Herald, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment in a five-part series about local efforts to help Ukrainian refugees. Today we profile the work of a different organization, Ukrainian Canadian Volunteers Association, which is also helping settle newcomers in the South Okanagan and those who remained behind. People indiscriminately gunned down on city streets, the almost-constant piercing sound of the air raid sirens and families cowering in shelters praying for the bombing to end. That’s everyday life for many people in Ukraine since a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War in February 2022. Liudmyla Shkyn, 60, and her mother Hanna Opanasko, 81, who now live in Penticton, were two of the lucky ones, barely managing to escape the bloodshed.