Mother and daughters from Bucha, Ukraine welcomed by West Vancouver couple

A mother and her two daughters are settling into their new home in West Vancouver, after a harrowing journey from their hometown of Bucha, Ukraine.

"The first day when the war started, we heard the explosions. And I was hiding with my girls just in the hallway on the floor," Iryna Klypunenko said through a translator. "The windows were shaking and the doors, and you feel the entire building is moving from the explosion."

She decided to flee to Poland with nine-year-old Zlata and seven-year-old Olivia. There, she connected with casual friends who live in West Vancouver, who said they would help the family get to Canada, and offered them a room in their condominium.

"I would never imagine that someone far away from Ukraine, who is not that close, who moved on with their life, is going to welcome me and my girls into their home," said Klypunenko.

Wade Hazelton said he and his Ukrainian wife, who had met Klypunenko years ago in Bucha, didn’t hesitate. "If this is one little thing that we can do to help, then we’re doing it, and why not? It’s what we can do," he said.

Mother and daughters arrived on Saturday, just as horrific images of the atrocities in Bucha were coming to light.

"I can’t imagine at all," said Hazelton. "I’ve been to Bucha, and it’s a nice little town. Now it’s essentially gone, it’s terrible. It’s horrific. I don’t know what the words are."

Klypunenko is also struggling with what to tell her girls about their hometown.

"At the beginning, at least they had dignified burial. They were buried close to our church. Now all those mass graves...I don’t know how this could happen to my town in 21st century," she said, adding "My girls asking me mom, can we go back and take our toys? I don’t know what to say."

She’s trying to focus on starting over in West Vancouver, with Hazelton’s help.

"Just basic stuff: get the kids in school, get the work permit going, bank accounts. Regular people stuff," Hazelton said.

While her heart breaks for her homeland, Klypunenko is grateful she and her daughters have made it to safety. And they’re excited for a new life in Canada.