Ukrainian ESL Partnership in Calgary Delivers Language Training and More

Humanitarian Services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has approved a grant to provide Survival English courses to between 780 and 900 Ukrainian evacuees in Calgary, Alberta. This donation is the culmination of two years of collaboration between the Church’s Calgary Alberta West Stake and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), Alberta Provincial Council, which has helped Ukrainian evacuees learn English, make friends, obtain basic household items, get jobs and receive spiritual support.

Decision To Make Space for Survival English Classes at the Bow Valley Chapel

In early 2023, the Calgary Alberta West Stake first opened the doors of its Bow Valley chapel to the UCC to hold Survival English classes for Ukrainian evacuees.

At first, Colin Steele, then the stake president, considered declining the UCC request to use the chapel free of charge for classes. (The Church typically does not allow other charities to run operations from Church buildings.) However, while he pondered and prayed about the request, a powerful thought came to his mind: “Stop thinking about what you want and focus on what they need. An empty building is of no use to anyone.”

Steele immediately arranged for classes to begin. Since then, the UCC has continually held Survival English sessions at the church. Each session runs for two weeks, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. MT, and features beginner and Level 2 classes taught by teachers who are also Ukrainian evacuees.

As of December 2024, over 4,000 Ukrainian evacuees have completed Survival English classes. When funding ended in December 2024, Church Humanitarian Services provided a donation, allowing the courses to continue for six more months.

Ukrainian-speaking missionaries and other Church volunteers are on-site during the classes and enjoy interacting with the students. Missionaries begin each class with a devotional and a prayer. Missionaries and Church members also host graduation parties for each graduating class.

Church’s ESL Program, English Connect, Does More Than Teach English

The Church hosts its own free public English classes, English Connect, each Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT at the Bow Valley chapel. The class is popular with Survival English students and graduates as well as learners from many other backgrounds, attracting up to 70 learners each week. English Connect is supported by volunteers who provide good opportunities for learners to practice English conversation and build friendships.

Dustin Thompson, a high councillor in the Calgary Alberta West Stake, oversees English Connect. He explained why it is so powerful and popular: “Our first objective is not to teach English. Our first objective is for people to leave feeling like someone loves them.”

Calgarians Give Generously To Help Ukrainian Evacuees

While building relationships through Survival English and English Connect, Thompson noticed that many Ukrainian evacuees, reluctant to ask for assistance, lacked necessities like household supplies and furnishings. As Thompson and other Church members earned their trust, more Ukrainian friends opened up about their needs and agreed to accept help.

Thompson collaborated with Church members and friends, who in turn mobilized their workplaces, schools, neighbours and friends to provide donations, connect Ukrainian evacuees with job opportunities and more. In the past two years, hundreds of families have been helped with basic needs and have become more self-reliant.

In one case, a Ukrainian mother admitted that she could use a desk so her son could study. When Thompson and his 17-year-old son brought the desk by, he noticed the family had one mattress in the bedroom and one in the living room, with no bedding, other furnishings or household goods. They had lived like this for six months. When Thompson asked how they slept when it was cold at night, she replied that they slept with their coats on. Thompson arranged for their apartment to be fully outfitted with basic furniture and household supplies the same day. When the husband came home, he thought he had witnessed a miracle.

Serving Ukrainian evacuees has blessed local Church members, who have found joy sharing their abundance with their Ukrainian brothers and sisters. One young woman asked that instead of giving her gifts for her 16th birthday, people give money to help Ukrainian evacuees. She used the funds raised to purchase household supplies for a family and toys for their disabled son. She and her friends also cleaned the home before unloading the supplies. In other cases, a local family is paired with a Ukrainian family to help with necessities and develop friendships.

Church Shares Message of Love, Hope and Peace With Ukrainian Evacuees

The Church also offers spiritual support to interested Ukrainians, helping them understand God’s love for them and find hope and peace in this difficult time. In April 2024, the North America Central Area president, Elder Randall K. Bennett, visited Calgary and held an evening meeting for Ukrainians.

Elder Bennett said, “Meeting with the Ukrainian evacuees was a priority for my wife, Shelley, and me. It was a special evening. As we mingled with these people, we could feel Heavenly Father’s love for His children — these specific children.”

Two hundred and forty Ukrainians were warmed and strengthened by Bennett’s assurances of God’s love for them and the peace and hope available through Jesus Christ.

Elder Bennett emphasized, “Jesus Christ taught that the first great commandment is that we should love God with all our heart, mind and soul, … and that the second is like unto the first, that we should love our neighbours, as ourselves (see Matthew 22:37–40). If we truly love God, we will naturally and instinctively love God’s children and do what we can to help them. We are not perfect, but we try to do all we can to comfort, lift, love, encourage and help others.”