SASKATOON — A registered nurse from Saskatoon is playing a critical role in helping those in Ukraine with the ongoing war.
Tanya Baran, medical lead with Ukrainian Patriot, has been to the country seven times in the past few years, as she’s aided in a variety of tasks.
“We’ve worked with the military on whether it's indeed safe for us to go to some places and deliver items and kind of like work our way around.”
Baran said she has also worked with children in Ukraine to help with their PTSD.
"So we will go, and we'll spend time with the kids and just give them some moments of normalcy. So playing games, dancing, practicing English with them, just things like that.”
While back home in Saskatoon, Baran and the Ukrainian Patriot have worked on sending dozens of supplies.
“We’ve sent at least four or five big shipments where I’m talking about sending up to 20 large boxes full of medical supplies that have been collected,” she noted.
After news of the escalating conflict emerged in 2022, Baran quickly felt compelled to help.
“The Ukrainian tradition, culture, and language have been part of my life since I was a child. So, when the invasion started, I just knew that I had to do something because it's in my roots from my grandparents.”
Shortly after, Baran got connected with Lana Niland, who started the organization.
Niland and Baran had known each other for decades, from dancing when she had lived in Saskatoon. Niland had since moved to Ukraine, as she witnessed first-hand the beginning of the war.
“She was in her Kyiv apartment as tanks rolled through the streets and missiles struck the city, watching residents evacuate and others gather makeshift protection, which made her realize she needed to stay and help,” said Baran.
Baran and others reached out to Niland, as Ukrainian Patriot formed days later.
What it’s like
Baran said living in Ukraine during a war gives you a different perspective than what's shown on TV.
“Whatever area you're in, an app will go off, and then you can hear the sirens overhead, like in the cities.”
Baran also said people must be prepared to move into shelters or hallways at any moment during a missile attack.
“You wait all night for hours and hours. And then you have to wait until it clears. [Then] you literally just get up and go on with your day.
Despite dealing with a war, Baran said the Ukrainian people still live their lives, working and attending school.
“The communities like to work together to keep life going as much as possible. It is something truly wonderful to experience.”
Baran acknowledged that spending time living in a war-torn country has affected her well-being.
“Noises kind of throw me off. I don't like the sound of fireworks anymore. I don't enjoy either hearing them or seeing them because they are very, very similar sounding to incoming ballistics landing.”
Although she has challenges with noise, Baran still intends to return to Ukraine for more trips.
“I’ll always go with the knowing that I'm going on my own terms.”
She added, “It's a place that I don't want to abandon. So I feel they're like the pull to go back because I feel for myself it's so important to have boots on the ground to experience it.”
Whenever the war ends, Baran said, continued work will be required to rebuild the country while also addressing multi-generational PTSD.
“The PTSD and rebuilding kind of have to work together to help rebuild not only people's homes, like physical communities, but also help rebuild the mental anguish and the mental capacity, or just that emotional bind to, you know, help with the healing process.”
