Newfoundland and Labrador has welcomed another group of Ukrainian newcomers to the province.
The 177 refugees arrived shortly after 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night on a flight arranged by the province’s help desk in Warsaw, Poland.
As they departed the plane, a welcome team, led by Immigration Minister Gerry Byrne, directed the newcomers to their previously arranged accommodations.
The first to arrive.@VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/PtngknQypT
— Noah Sheppard (@SheppardNoah14) June 14, 2022
Among those waiting for the Ukrainians to arrive was Pamela Ryder-Lahey, a retired CEO of the Supreme Court who has done two rule of law projects in Ukraine.
When the war broke out, an old colleague from the war-torn country reached out to see if the Newfoundlander could find her daughter a safe place to finish her Master’s degree. Ryder-Lahey was able to arrange for five students to make their way to the province.
She says her colleague was delighted. She says she will act as a surrogate mother to the five students and her friends in the court system were able to fundraise enough money to set up a one-year lease on a four-bedroom house near Memorial University for them.
Ukrainian Angelina Shevchenko had glowing words to describe the work of Ryder-Lahey. When asked by media why she came to Newfoundland, she replied, “Because of this great woman.”
Pamela Ryder-Lacey (right) welcomes Angelina (left) along with four other Ukrainian university students who will attend MUN. Pamela worked with Angelina’s mother, who reached out to her.@VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/Ej45BxU31f
— Noah Sheppard (@SheppardNoah14) June 15, 2022
