Tereziia, Experience of moving to Canada

“It was a completely spontaneous decision, and I was sure that the last person to leave Ukraine would be me,” Tereziia recalls, regarding her story of moving.

Since Tereziia's family has friends who have been living in Canada for 5 years, she decided to open a visa and go there with her son to recover their nervous systems and emotional states from the stress caused by the war.

“My son is nine years old. He attended school in Ukraine. Because of the constant alarms, the children were sitting in a bomb shelter and there was no normal education. My son started stuttering. When we came to Canada, we felt a peace we'd long forgotten. We were free from the constant jerking from anxiety, from the roaring of airplane engines overhead,” Tereziia shared.

They came to Canada from Poltava in February 2024 and lived together with friends in Kitchener for 8 months. These friends helped a lot with adaptation.

Tereziia is a veterinarian by profession and had her own clinic in Ukraine. During the war, she also rescued animals that had been abandoned. That's how a parrot, a lizard and a puppy came to her clinic.

“I decided right away that I would look for a job in my specialty here in Canada. Of course, it was difficult. I was told that I was overqualified and at the same time I didn't have the necessary license to work as a veterinarian in Canada,” Tereziia explains. “But I knocked on every door, wrote to the veterinary association and various clinics. In the end, I was offered to participate in a pilot project for veterinarians from different countries. This allowed me to get a license to practice in Canada in the future. The clinic in Waterloo responded to my internship request and offered me a job as a veterinary technician.”

Tereziia has now been employed for three months and has successfully completed her probationary period. In addition, Tereziia's family now has a new addition - Leonard, a cat from the veterinary clinic, who warms her son with his purr in the evenings.

“It was a difficult decision for me to leave Ukraine for a long time. At first, I thought it would only be a temporary vacation, especially since my husband and successful business remained in Ukraine. But the most important thing is peace for my son, and he got this in Canada. If there was an opportunity, I wanted to give my son a cozy childhood. I am happy that he has friends here and that he continues to practice his favourite sport: judo,” Tereziia says.

“We had a lot of support from the Waterloo Centre and the job center. They paid for my overalls for the clinic and my interview clothes. The volunteers helped with furniture. Yes, it's hard to start from scratch in a new country, but if you know clearly what you want, you will achieve it. If you are willing to help in return, everything is possible, ” Tereziia reflects.

She motivates newcomers with these words and her own experience.